Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) shares gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $15.49, but opened at $19.17. Century Aluminum shares last traded at $19.69, with a volume of 1,795,882 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CENX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Century Aluminum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. BMO Capital Markets raised Century Aluminum from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th.

Century Aluminum Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.03 and a beta of 2.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $16.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.72.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.25). The firm had revenue of $633.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $643.80 million. Century Aluminum had a return on equity of 13.38% and a net margin of 14.69%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Century Aluminum will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Century Aluminum

In other Century Aluminum news, CAO Robert F. Hoffman sold 2,500 shares of Century Aluminum stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.99, for a total transaction of $49,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 64,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,281,019.17. The trade was a 3.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Century Aluminum

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CENX. Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new position in Century Aluminum in the fourth quarter valued at $683,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Century Aluminum by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 58,117 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,059,000 after buying an additional 2,801 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 218,525 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,982,000 after purchasing an additional 14,223 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 319,702 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,825,000 after buying an additional 17,710 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Century Aluminum by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 347,045 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,323,000 after buying an additional 19,129 shares in the last quarter. 61.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.