Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Stock Price Up 5% – Still a Buy?

Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) shares were up 5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $31.81 and last traded at $31.8050. Approximately 206,848 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 1,819,934 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.29.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Century Aluminum from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Zacks Research raised shares of Century Aluminum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. B. Riley raised their target price on shares of Century Aluminum from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Century Aluminum from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.00.

Century Aluminum Stock Down 2.4%

The company’s 50-day moving average is $30.01 and its 200 day moving average is $24.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of 37.13 and a beta of 2.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.23). Century Aluminum had a net margin of 3.47% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The company had revenue of $632.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $629.85 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.63 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Century Aluminum Company will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Agust F. Hafberg sold 9,493 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total value of $264,949.63. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 55,260 shares in the company, valued at $1,542,306.60. This represents a 14.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in Century Aluminum during the second quarter worth approximately $641,000. Monaco Asset Management SAM raised its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 67.3% during the 2nd quarter. Monaco Asset Management SAM now owns 230,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,145,000 after buying an additional 92,500 shares during the period. Thomist Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 489.0% during the 2nd quarter. Thomist Capital Management LP now owns 221,746 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,003,000 after buying an additional 184,100 shares in the last quarter. Icon Advisers Inc. Co. acquired a new stake in Century Aluminum in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,860,000. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in Century Aluminum in the 2nd quarter worth $203,000. 61.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Century Aluminum Company Profile

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.