Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Shares Up 5.7% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) shot up 5.7% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $58.03 and last traded at $58.0240. 682,701 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 2,173,062 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.92.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. BMO Capital Markets set a $75.00 target price on Century Aluminum and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Century Aluminum from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, B. Riley Financial raised their price target on shares of Century Aluminum from $68.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.00.

Century Aluminum Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $59.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.05 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.25. The company had revenue of $633.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $661.63 million. Century Aluminum had a net margin of 13.75% and a return on equity of 13.59%. Century Aluminum’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Century Aluminum Company will post 10.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Century Aluminum

In related news, EVP John Dezee sold 66,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.72, for a total value of $3,347,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 97,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,952,655.84. The trade was a 40.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jesse E. Gary sold 150,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.47, for a total value of $8,320,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 142,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,908,912.60. The trade was a 51.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 251,626 shares of company stock valued at $13,619,411. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Century Aluminum

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Lido Advisors LLC increased its stake in Century Aluminum by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 13,091 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $768,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments increased its stake in Century Aluminum by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 7,866 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $462,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Century Aluminum by 26.5% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,419 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Century Aluminum by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 10,269 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $402,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in Century Aluminum by 26.3% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,592 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.59% of the company’s stock.

About Century Aluminum

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.