Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Stock Price Up 5% – Here’s Why

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX)’s share price was up 5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $18.08 and last traded at $18.04. Approximately 350,267 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 1,195,951 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.17.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Century Aluminum Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.08 and a beta of 2.53. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $20.40 and its 200-day moving average is $17.59.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $539.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $587.10 million. Century Aluminum had a net margin of 14.60% and a return on equity of 11.37%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.13) earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Century Aluminum will post 0.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction of $554,739.71. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Century Aluminum

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Century Aluminum during the 4th quarter worth about $54,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 159.2% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 39.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,347 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 1,233 shares during the period. Olympiad Research LP bought a new stake in Century Aluminum in the third quarter valued at approximately $180,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in Century Aluminum in the third quarter valued at approximately $189,000. 61.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Century Aluminum

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.