Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $30.37 and last traded at $29.82, with a volume of 1748721 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $29.40.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. B. Riley upped their target price on Century Aluminum from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Century Aluminum from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $25.67.

Century Aluminum Trading Up 1.4%

The business’s 50-day moving average is $23.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.78 billion, a PE ratio of 25.71 and a beta of 2.52.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.39). The firm had revenue of $628.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $606.10 million. Century Aluminum had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 18.02%. On average, analysts predict that Century Aluminum Company will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Century Aluminum

In other Century Aluminum news, SVP Matt Aboud sold 12,027 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.27, for a total value of $279,868.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 62,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,456,446.03. This represents a 16.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Agust F. Hafberg sold 9,493 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total transaction of $264,949.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 55,260 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,542,306.60. The trade was a 14.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Century Aluminum

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CENX. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Century Aluminum by 1,291.8% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,364 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,266 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new position in shares of Century Aluminum during the first quarter worth about $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 253.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 261.8% during the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,020 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 2,909 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 12.9% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,414 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during 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.