Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Lowered to “Buy” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report released on Sunday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Zacks Research lowered Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Century Aluminum from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. UBS Group started coverage on Century Aluminum in a research report on Monday, August 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Century Aluminum from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.00.

Century Aluminum Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CENX opened at $39.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.75 and a quick ratio of 1.61. Century Aluminum has a one year low of $25.40 and a one year high of $70.43. The company has a market cap of $3.86 billion, a PE ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $45.23 and a 200-day moving average of $52.99.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $752.10 million for 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 revenue was up 59.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Century Aluminum will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Century Aluminum

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CENX. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Century Aluminum in the 2nd quarter valued at $474,129,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 109.7% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,830,324 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $107,422,000 after purchasing an additional 957,571 shares during the period. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 210.4% during the 1st quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,551,362 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $91,049,000 after purchasing an additional 1,051,525 shares during the period. Impala Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Impala Asset Management LLC now owns 975,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $57,223,000 after buying an additional 117,195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kinetic Partners Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Century Aluminum in the 2nd quarter worth about $35,736,000. 61.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Century Aluminum

Century Aluminum Company is a producer of primary aluminum. The company operates aluminum smelters that convert alumina into aluminum metal, supplying standard-grade and value-added products used in transportation, construction, packaging, and other industrial applications.

Century Aluminum’s operations are primarily located in the United States and Iceland. Its U.S. portfolio includes facilities in Sebree, Kentucky, and Mount Holly, South Carolina, while its Icelandic operations include the Grundartangi smelter, operated through its Norðurál subsidiary.