Nicholas Investment Partners LP Acquires Shares of 197,999 Century Aluminum Company $CENX

Nicholas Investment Partners LP acquired a new position in Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 197,999 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,110,000. Nicholas Investment Partners LP owned approximately 0.20% of Century Aluminum at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CENX. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum in the 2nd quarter worth about $474,129,000. Sourcerock Group LLC lifted its position in Century Aluminum by 612.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC now owns 1,424,088 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,662,000 after acquiring an additional 1,224,088 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Century Aluminum by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,939,794 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $271,901,000 after acquiring an additional 1,094,257 shares in the last quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Century Aluminum by 210.4% in the first quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,551,362 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $91,049,000 after purchasing an additional 1,051,525 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Century Aluminum by 109.7% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,830,324 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $107,422,000 after purchasing an additional 957,571 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.59% of the company’s stock.

Century Aluminum Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of CENX stock opened at $43.66 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.83. Century Aluminum Company has a 12 month low of $20.91 and a 12 month high of $70.43. The company has a current ratio of 2.75, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $4.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.54 and a beta of 1.96.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by $0.13. Century Aluminum had a return on equity of 33.83% and a net margin of 22.63%.The business had revenue of $752.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $817.15 million. The company’s revenue was up 59.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Century Aluminum Company will post 8.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CENX has been the topic of several recent research reports. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen cut Century Aluminum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Century Aluminum in a research report on Monday, August 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Century Aluminum from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Century Aluminum from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Century Aluminum presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.00.

Century Aluminum 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.