MQS Management LLC Grows Position in Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX)

MQS Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) by 8.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,792 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 883 shares during the quarter. MQS Management LLC’s holdings in Century Aluminum were worth $198,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Castle Hook Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 1,147.0% during the 1st quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 976,894 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,034,000 after purchasing an additional 898,554 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 125.7% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 531,679 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,906,000 after buying an additional 296,101 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Century Aluminum by 30.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,186,243 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $19,870,000 after buying an additional 276,304 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Century Aluminum during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,058,000. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its holdings in Century Aluminum by 314.4% during the 1st quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 109,004 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,678,000 after buying an additional 82,703 shares in the last quarter. 61.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CENX shares. B. Riley lowered their target price on Century Aluminum from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Century Aluminum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Century Aluminum from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th.

Century Aluminum Stock Down 3.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ CENX opened at $14.27 on Friday. Century Aluminum has a 1 year low of $5.70 and a 1 year high of $21.37. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.69. The company has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.55 and a beta of 2.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 0.63.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The industrial products company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $560.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $530.90 million. Century Aluminum had a negative return on equity of 0.04% and a net margin of 10.32%. Research analysts anticipate that Century Aluminum will post 0.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions 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 shares were sold at an average price of $16.21, for a total value of $972,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,447 shares in the company, valued at $1,012,265.87. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

About Century Aluminum

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.