Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Trading Down 5.1% – What’s Next?

Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX)’s stock price dropped 5.1% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $65.72 and last traded at $64.4510. Approximately 253,785 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 2,413,764 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.94.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. B. Riley Financial boosted their target price on Century Aluminum from $68.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets set a $75.00 target price on Century Aluminum and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Century Aluminum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $76.67.

Century Aluminum Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market cap of $6.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 159.81 and a beta of 1.99. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $54.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.78.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25. The company had revenue of $633.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $661.63 million. Century Aluminum had a return on equity of 5.57% and a net margin of 1.65%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. Analysts predict that Century Aluminum Company will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Century Aluminum news, SVP Matt Aboud sold 12,126 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.50, for a total transaction of $636,615.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 67,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,560,235. The trade was a 15.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Robert F. Hoffman sold 10,529 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.51, for a total transaction of $594,993.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 56,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,200,895.93. The trade was a 15.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 401,626 shares of company stock worth $20,847,911. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Century Aluminum

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Century Aluminum during the fourth quarter valued at $1,121,000. Beartown Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Century Aluminum during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,959,000. Summit Global Investments purchased a new position in Century Aluminum during the 4th quarter valued at about $299,000. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury increased its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 48.7% in the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 18,772 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $735,000 after purchasing an additional 6,152 shares during the period. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Century Aluminum in the 4th quarter valued at about $227,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.59% of the company’s stock.

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.