Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Trading 9.1% Higher – Here’s Why

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) shares shot up 9.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $18.86 and last traded at $18.86. 476,087 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 34% from the average session volume of 719,511 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.29.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on CENX shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Century Aluminum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Century Aluminum from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. B. Riley lifted their price objective on shares of Century Aluminum from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Century Aluminum from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th.

Century Aluminum Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $20.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.41. The firm has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 2.53.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.31. Century Aluminum had a return on equity of 11.37% and a net margin of 14.60%. The company had revenue of $539.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $587.10 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.13) earnings per share. Analysts expect that Century Aluminum will post 0.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Century Aluminum

In other Century Aluminum news, CEO Jesse E. Gary sold 29,243 shares of Century Aluminum stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.97, for a total value of $554,739.71. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 50,753 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,784.41. The trade was a 36.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Century Aluminum

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 49.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 959,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,565,000 after purchasing an additional 319,164 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Century Aluminum by 17.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 301,992 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,901,000 after purchasing an additional 43,881 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Century Aluminum by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 30,115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $524,000 after purchasing an additional 2,198 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in Century Aluminum by 266.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 97,396 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,581,000 after purchasing an additional 70,825 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,279,772 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $20,774,000 after buying an additional 13,486 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.59% of the company’s stock.

Century Aluminum Company Profile

Century Aluminum Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production of standard-grade and value-added primary aluminum products in the United States and Iceland. It also owns and operates an alumina production facility in Iceland, and a carbon anode production facility in the Netherlands.