Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Trading Up 5% – Should You Buy?

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Century Aluminum from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com raised 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 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, B. Riley lifted their price target 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.

Century Aluminum Trading Up 0.6 %

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 has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.11 and a beta of 2.53. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.60.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $539.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $587.10 million. Century Aluminum had a net margin of 14.60% and a return on equity of 11.37%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.13) earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Century Aluminum will post 0.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $962,784.41. The trade was a 36.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Century Aluminum

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sei Investments Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum in the 2nd quarter valued at $416,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum in the second quarter worth about $1,756,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 1,004.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 111,301 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,864,000 after acquiring an additional 101,226 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 27,893 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $467,000 after acquiring an additional 1,335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Century Aluminum in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $475,000. 61.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.