Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 2,198 Shares of Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) by 7.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,198 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Century Aluminum were worth $524,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Aristeia Capital L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum in the second quarter valued at approximately $681,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 301,992 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,901,000 after buying an additional 43,881 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Century Aluminum during the third quarter valued at $475,000. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 266.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 97,396 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,581,000 after acquiring an additional 70,825 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Century Aluminum by 16.9% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 621,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,084,000 after acquiring an additional 89,621 shares during the period. 61.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jesse E. Gary sold 29,243 shares of Century Aluminum stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.97, for a total transaction of $554,739.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Century Aluminum Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CENX opened at $18.23 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $20.63 and its 200 day moving average is $17.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 0.56. Century Aluminum has a 1 year low of $9.65 and a 1 year high of $25.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.10 and a beta of 2.50.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $539.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $587.10 million. Century Aluminum had a net margin of 14.60% and a return on equity of 11.37%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.13) earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Century Aluminum will post 0.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of Century Aluminum from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Century Aluminum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Century Aluminum from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, B. Riley boosted their price target on Century Aluminum from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th.

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.