Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Hits New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Shares of Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $35.25 and last traded at $34.9970, with a volume of 239927 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $33.81.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Century Aluminum Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a PE ratio of 42.24 and a beta of 2.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company’s fifty day moving average is $30.20 and its 200 day moving average is $25.00.

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

Insider Transactions at Century Aluminum

In other Century Aluminum news, SVP Agust F. Hafberg sold 9,493 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total value of $264,949.63. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 55,260 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,542,306.60. This trade represents a 14.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Century Aluminum

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CENX. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Century Aluminum in the 2nd quarter valued at about $641,000. Monaco Asset Management SAM increased its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 67.3% in the second quarter. Monaco Asset Management SAM now owns 230,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,145,000 after purchasing an additional 92,500 shares during the period. Thomist Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 489.0% in the second quarter. Thomist Capital Management LP now owns 221,746 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,003,000 after purchasing an additional 184,100 shares during the period. Icon Advisers Inc. Co. bought a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum during the second quarter valued at approximately $5,860,000. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Century Aluminum during the second quarter worth approximately $203,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.59% of the company’s stock.

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.