Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Shares of Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $66.88, but opened at $62.29. Century Aluminum shares last traded at $63.2450, with a volume of 201,470 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CENX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets set a $75.00 price target on shares of Century Aluminum and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Zacks Research raised shares of Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. B. Riley Financial raised their price target on shares of Century Aluminum from $68.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Century Aluminum from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.00.

Century Aluminum Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average is $60.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.64. The firm has a market cap of $6.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.16 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Insider Transactions at Century Aluminum

In other news, CAO Robert F. Hoffman sold 10,529 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.51, for a total value of $594,993.79. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 56,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,200,895.93. The trade was a 15.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jesse E. Gary sold 150,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.47, for a total value of $8,320,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 142,580 shares in the company, valued at $7,908,912.60. This represents a 51.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 185,626 shares of company stock valued at $10,271,891. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 35.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 350,858 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,301,000 after acquiring an additional 91,647 shares in the last quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum during the third quarter worth about $942,000. Drummond Knight Asset Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum during the fourth quarter worth about $12,278,000. Glencore plc increased its holdings in Century Aluminum by 33.6% during the 4th quarter. Glencore plc now owns 53,511,894 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,096,596,000 after purchasing an additional 13,454,538 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Century Aluminum during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,264,000. 61.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.