Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Upgraded by BMO Capital Markets to “Outperform” Rating

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) was upgraded by BMO Capital Markets from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage presently has a $22.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 26.58% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on CENX. StockNews.com raised shares of Century Aluminum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. B. Riley boosted their price objective on shares of Century Aluminum from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Century Aluminum from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd.

Century Aluminum Trading Down 13.3 %

Century Aluminum stock opened at $17.38 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $19.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.12. The firm has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 2.50. Century Aluminum has a 1 year low of $9.65 and a 1 year high of $25.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.71.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The industrial products company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $631.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $515.27 million. Century Aluminum had a return on equity of 13.38% and a net margin of 14.69%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.39 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Century Aluminum will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jesse E. Gary sold 29,243 shares of Century Aluminum stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.97, for a total value of $554,739.71. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 50,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $962,784.41. The trade was a 36.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Century Aluminum

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CENX. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in Century Aluminum by 2,889.3% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 2,511 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 2,427 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum in the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 159.2% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Finally, Olympiad Research LP bought a new stake in Century Aluminum in the third quarter valued at approximately $180,000. 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.