Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on CENX. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Century Aluminum from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. BMO Capital Markets set a $75.00 target price on Century Aluminum and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Century Aluminum from $69.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on Century Aluminum from $68.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Century Aluminum has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $79.33.

Century Aluminum Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CENX traded down $0.35 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $62.27. 177,591 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,193,848. Century Aluminum has a 12 month low of $14.77 and a 12 month high of $68.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.97. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $57.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.09. The firm has a market cap of $6.16 billion, a PE ratio of 155.95 and a beta of 1.91.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.25. Century Aluminum had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 5.57%. The business had revenue of $633.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $661.63 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Century Aluminum will post 10.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Century Aluminum

In other news, CEO Jesse E. Gary sold 150,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.47, for a total transaction of $8,320,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 142,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,908,912.60. This represents a 51.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Robert F. Hoffman sold 10,529 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.51, for a total transaction of $594,993.79. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 56,643 shares in the company, valued at $3,200,895.93. The trade was a 15.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 251,626 shares of company stock valued at $13,619,411. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum during the first quarter worth $42,000. Private Trust Co. NA bought a new position in Century Aluminum in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Strs Ohio bought a new position in Century Aluminum in the first quarter valued at about $47,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Century Aluminum in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in Century Aluminum in the first quarter worth about $67,000. 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.