Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The industrial products company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25, FiscalAI reports. Century Aluminum had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 3.47%.The firm had revenue of $633.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $661.63 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis.

Here are the key takeaways from Century Aluminum’s conference call:

• Century formed a 60/40 joint venture with EGA to build the first new U.S. smelter in nearly 50 years, secured a $500M DOE grant, hired Bechtel for next‑stage engineering, and increased the planned capacity to 750,000 metric tons with an expected FID and groundbreaking by year‑end.
• Century completed the sale of the Hawesville site for $200M and retained a non‑dilutive 6.8% stake in the TeraWulf AI data center (with a one‑year put right), receiving cash now while preserving upside without funding obligations.
• Operational recoveries are ahead of prior timing — Grundartangi’s Line 2 is expected to restart with repaired transformers at the end of April and return to near‑full production by end of July, Jamalco’s TG4 turbine is on track for April commissioning to cut energy costs, and insurance reimbursements for the Iceland outage have begun.
• Financials show improving momentum — Q4 adjusted EBITDA was $171M, Q1 guidance is $215–235M and FY‑2026 shipments are expected at ~630k tons with CapEx of $115–125M — while the company retains $134M cash (plus $200M Hawesville proceeds) and net debt of $421M, and near‑term headwinds include a short energy price spike and timing of insurance/tax receipts.

Century Aluminum Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of CENX traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $52.77. The stock had a trading volume of 651,756 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,343,128. Century Aluminum has a 1-year low of $13.05 and a 1-year high of $55.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.08 and a beta of 2.24. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Century Aluminum news, CEO Jesse E. Gary sold 150,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total value of $7,228,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 292,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,099,430.20. This represents a 33.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Century Aluminum

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CENX. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Century Aluminum by 22.1% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 39,001 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $724,000 after purchasing an additional 7,051 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new position in shares of Century Aluminum during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 1.8% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 59,186 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,098,000 after buying an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 21.2% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 124,001 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,301,000 after acquiring an additional 21,702 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 147,046 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,650,000 after acquiring an additional 9,721 shares during the last quarter. 61.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Century Aluminum

Here are the key news stories impacting Century Aluminum this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded CENX to a “strong-buy” and highlighted Century as a momentum industrial name amid a 12.8% YTD sector rally — this analyst enthusiasm and sector tailwind supports further upside. Zacks Analyst Blog
• Positive Sentiment: Large institutional accumulation was reported in Q4 (including big additions from firms like Vanguard, D.E. Shaw and — per filings — Glencore increasing exposure), a supportive signal that some big investors are positioning for upside. Quiver Quant
• Neutral Sentiment: Technicals show strong momentum: CENX is trading well above its 200-day and 50-day moving averages, which attracts trend-following funds but also raises valuation scrutiny (P/E ~61.6; beta ~2.24). Zacks Trend Screen
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 results were mixed to disappointing: revenue of $633.7M (+0.4% YoY) missed consensus, and while adjusted EPS was reported at $1.25 (MarketBeat/company release), third‑party reporting flagged a much smaller GAAP diluted EPS and sharply lower net income in some presentations — this ambiguity and the revenue miss are weighing on sentiment. Quiver Quant (Q4 detail) MarketBeat / Company Release
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider and block trading activity is a concern: filings show large share sales by major holders (including a large block tied to Glencore and insider sales from executives), which can create selling pressure or at least raise governance/exit questions. Quiver Quant (insider activity)
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data in the feed is unreliable/zeroed out and provides no actionable signal; treat short-interest commentary with caution until updated figures are confirmed.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Century Aluminum from $46.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. B. Riley Financial lifted their target price on shares of Century Aluminum from $37.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Century Aluminum from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.00.

Century Aluminum Company Profile

Century Aluminum Company is a primary aluminum producer that develops and operates smelters designed to supply low-carbon, high-purity aluminum products to a range of industrial and commercial markets. Established in 1995, the company has grown to become a significant North American aluminum producer with an expanding international footprint. Century Aluminum is headquartered in the United States and is focused on energy-efficient operations and cost management.

The company’s core operations include three primary aluminum smelting facilities located in Hawesville, Kentucky; Mount Holly, South Carolina; and Grundartangi, Iceland.