Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Rating Lowered to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

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

Century Aluminum Price Performance

CENX opened at $39.10 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.75 and a beta of 1.99. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $45.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.75, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Century Aluminum has a 12-month low of $25.40 and a 12-month high of $70.43.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm’s revenue was up 59.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Century Aluminum will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CENX. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in Century Aluminum by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 10,868 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $500,000 after buying an additional 1,040 shares during the period. Steamboat Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Century Aluminum by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Steamboat Capital Partners LLC now owns 296,666 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,650,000 after purchasing an additional 20,418 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 65.6% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 679,205 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,250,000 after buying an additional 269,112 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in Century Aluminum by 19.8% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 18,434 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $848,000 after purchasing an additional 3,052 shares during the period. Finally, Nykredit A S bought a new position in Century Aluminum in the second quarter worth about $84,000. Institutional investors own 61.59% of the company’s stock.

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.