Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Downgraded to “Sell” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Monday morning.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wolfe Research upgraded Century Aluminum from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Century Aluminum from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th.

Century Aluminum Stock Performance

Shares of CENX stock opened at $18.91 on Monday. Century Aluminum has a 52 week low of $11.40 and a 52 week high of $25.39. The company has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.98 and a beta of 2.67. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.87. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The industrial products company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations of $515.27 million. Century Aluminum had a return on equity of 13.38% and a net margin of 14.69%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.39 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Century Aluminum will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jesse E. Gary sold 29,243 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.97, for a total value of $554,739.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 50,753 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,784.41. The trade was a 36.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Robert F. Hoffman sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.99, for a total transaction of $49,975.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 64,083 shares in the company, valued at $1,281,019.17. This represents a 3.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Century Aluminum

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CENX. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 411,589 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,499,000 after buying an additional 2,358 shares in the last quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new position in Century Aluminum in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,197,000. Perennial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Century Aluminum during the fourth quarter worth about $535,000. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Century Aluminum in the fourth quarter worth about $225,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 131,183 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,390,000 after purchasing an additional 13,900 shares in the last quarter. 61.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.