Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Trading Down 5.7% After Insider Selling

Shares of Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) fell 5.7% on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $46.53 and last traded at $45.9140. 631,327 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 2,055,997 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.71.

Specifically, CEO Jesse E. Gary sold 150,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total transaction of $7,228,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 292,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,099,430.20. The trade was a 33.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a research report on Wednesday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Century Aluminum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Century Aluminum from $46.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Century Aluminum from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.00.

Century Aluminum Stock Down 6.0%

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 company’s 50 day moving average is $36.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.62. The company has a market capitalization of $4.27 billion, a PE ratio of 53.68 and a beta of 2.26.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last announced 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). Century Aluminum had a net margin of 3.47% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The firm had revenue of $632.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $629.85 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.63 earnings per share. Century Aluminum’s quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Century Aluminum Company will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Century Aluminum

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 30,604 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,198,000 after buying an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC bought a new position in shares of Century Aluminum during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Glencore plc raised 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 valued at $2,096,596,000 after buying an additional 13,454,538 shares during the period. Drummond Knight Asset Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in Century Aluminum during the 4th quarter valued at $12,278,000. Finally, Sheets Smith Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 56.8% in the 4th quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 14,657 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $574,000 after acquiring an additional 5,308 shares during the last quarter. 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.