Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Hits New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $40.00 and last traded at $39.9520, with a volume of 3570 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.31.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CENX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Century Aluminum from $37.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Century Aluminum from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. B. Riley increased their target price on shares of Century Aluminum from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Century Aluminum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Century Aluminum has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $36.00.

Century Aluminum Trading Up 1.3%

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a PE ratio of 46.84 and a beta of 2.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $30.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.65.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.23). The business had revenue of $632.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $629.85 million. Century Aluminum had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 3.47%.The business’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Century Aluminum Company will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Century Aluminum

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Century Aluminum by 26.3% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,592 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in Century Aluminum by 2.5% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,562 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $486,000 after buying an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC increased its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 53,943 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,584,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Century Aluminum by 12.9% during the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,414 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 2.5% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 20,926 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $377,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares during the period. 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.