Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Upgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. B. Riley reduced their price target on Century Aluminum from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Century Aluminum from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday.

Century Aluminum Stock Up 10.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ CENX traded up $1.34 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $13.95. The company had a trading volume of 2,016,296 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,451,977. The company has a market capitalization of $1.29 billion, a PE ratio of 6.40 and a beta of 2.52. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.06. Century Aluminum has a 1-year low of $5.70 and a 1-year high of $21.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 0.63.

Insider Activity at Century Aluminum

In other news, CEO Jesse E. Gary sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.21, for a total transaction of $972,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,012,265.87. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Century Aluminum

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MQS Management LLC grew its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. MQS Management LLC now owns 11,792 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $198,000 after buying an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its stake in Century Aluminum by 2.5% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 45,288 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $697,000 after acquiring an additional 1,102 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 104.1% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 2,716 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 1,385 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 0.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 366,804 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,144,000 after purchasing an additional 1,641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 13,746.2% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,787 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.59% of the company’s stock.

Century Aluminum Company Profile

Century Aluminum Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production of standard-grade and value-added primary aluminum products in the United States and Iceland. It also owns and operates an alumina production facility in Iceland, and a carbon anode production facility in the Netherlands.