Wells Fargo & Company Boosts Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Price Target to $69.00

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) had its price objective boosted by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $61.00 to $69.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target points to a potential upside of 18.82% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. B. Riley Financial upped their price objective on shares of Century Aluminum from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.00.

Century Aluminum Price Performance

Shares of Century Aluminum stock opened at $58.07 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 145.18 and a beta of 2.17. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.29. Century Aluminum has a 12 month low of $13.05 and a 12 month high of $58.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25. Century Aluminum had a return on equity of 5.57% and a net margin of 1.65%.The firm had revenue of $633.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $661.63 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Century Aluminum will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John Dezee sold 66,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.72, for a total value of $3,347,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 97,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,952,655.84. This represents a 40.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Robert F. Hoffman sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.33, for a total transaction of $563,300.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 67,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,783,798.76. This represents a 12.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 241,097 shares of company stock valued at $11,932,418 in the last ninety days. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Century Aluminum

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lido Advisors LLC increased its position in Century Aluminum by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 12,911 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $506,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 10,269 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $402,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 26.3% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,592 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 48.3% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,562 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $486,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.59% of the company’s stock.

Century Aluminum Company 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.