Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $55.61 and last traded at $52.4430, with a volume of 424968 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.50.

Century Aluminum News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted strategic partnerships, commercial contract progress and cost discipline on the Q4 call, which supports a more constructive medium‑term outlook for aluminum sales and margins. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and sector momentum is supportive: Zacks upgraded CENX to “strong‑buy” and the industrial sector has shown YTD strength, which can attract trend and momentum flows. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Large institutional buyers added to positions in Q4 (notably Glencore, Vanguard and several hedge funds increased exposure), signaling conviction from big owners even as the quarter was mixed. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Top‑line was essentially flat: revenue rose ~0.4% YoY to ~$633.7M (mixed vs. some street forecasts), while reported adjusted EPS met a $1.25 consensus figure — the headline numbers are mixed and leave room for interpretation. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst price targets remain split (median near $61 but a wide range exists), so analyst coverage is supportive but not unanimous. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: GAAP profitability metrics looked weak: one report highlights a sharp drop in net income and GAAP diluted EPS, a material operating profit decline YoY and weakness in operating cash flow — these near‑term fundamentals pressured the stock. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Notable insider selling (including large Glencore disposition and several executive sell transactions disclosed) creates additional downward pressure on sentiment despite institutional buys. Read More.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CENX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. B. Riley Financial upped their target price on Century Aluminum from $37.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Century Aluminum from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Century Aluminum from $46.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Century Aluminum presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.00.

Century Aluminum Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $44.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.96 and a beta of 2.24.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.25. Century Aluminum had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 3.47%.The company had revenue of $633.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $661.63 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Century Aluminum Company will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Century Aluminum

In related news, CEO Jesse E. Gary sold 150,000 shares of Century Aluminum stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were 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 $14,099,430.20. This trade represents a 33.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Century Aluminum

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Century Aluminum during the second quarter worth about $641,000. Convergence Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Century Aluminum in the third quarter valued at approximately $942,000. New Century Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Century Aluminum in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $987,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC grew its position in Century Aluminum by 620.8% during the 3rd quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 143,144 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,203,000 after acquiring an additional 123,285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Century Aluminum during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,277,000. 61.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Century Aluminum

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.