Empowered Funds LLC Takes $2.12 Million Position in Century Aluminum Company $CENX

Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 46,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,118,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Century Aluminum in the second quarter valued at approximately $474,129,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Century Aluminum by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,939,794 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $271,901,000 after acquiring an additional 1,094,257 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,295,711 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $168,306,000 after purchasing an additional 77,895 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 109.7% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,830,324 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $107,422,000 after buying an additional 957,571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Century Aluminum by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,609,093 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $63,044,000 after purchasing an additional 176,730 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.59% of the company’s stock.

Century Aluminum Stock Up 0.5%

NASDAQ CENX opened at $47.51 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $45.58 and a 200-day moving average of $53.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.21 and a beta of 1.99. Century Aluminum Company has a 52 week low of $21.48 and a 52 week high of $70.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.75.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $752.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $817.15 million. Century Aluminum had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 33.83%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 59.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Century Aluminum Company will post 7.75 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on CENX. Weiss Ratings cut Century Aluminum from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Zacks Research lowered Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Century Aluminum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Century Aluminum in a research note on Monday, August 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Century Aluminum from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.00.

Century Aluminum Profile

Century Aluminum Company is a primary aluminum producer that develops and operates smelters designed to supply low-carbon, high-purity aluminum products to a range of industrial and commercial markets. Established in 1995, the company has grown to become a significant North American aluminum producer with an expanding international footprint. Century Aluminum is headquartered in the United States and is focused on energy-efficient operations and cost management.

The company’s core operations include three primary aluminum smelting facilities located in Hawesville, Kentucky; Mount Holly, South Carolina; and Grundartangi, Iceland.