Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on CENX. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Century Aluminum from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. B. Riley reduced their target price on Century Aluminum from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th.

Century Aluminum Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of CENX stock opened at $17.22 on Friday. Century Aluminum has a fifty-two week low of $6.25 and a fifty-two week high of $21.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a PE ratio of 8.28 and a beta of 2.47. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.20.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Century Aluminum

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 1,208.7% during the second quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,401,638 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $23,477,000 after buying an additional 1,294,538 shares during the period. Castle Hook Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 1,147.0% during the first quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 976,894 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,034,000 after buying an additional 898,554 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 341.1% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 411,968 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,900,000 after purchasing an additional 318,579 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Century Aluminum by 125.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 296,101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 30.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,186,243 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $19,870,000 after buying an additional 276,304 shares in the last quarter. 61.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.