Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Short Interest Update

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,300,000 shares, a drop of 12.8% from the January 15th total of 4,930,000 shares. Approximately 8.4% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,230,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Century Aluminum

In other Century Aluminum news, CEO Jesse E. Gary sold 29,243 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.97, for a total value of $554,739.71. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 50,753 shares in the company, valued at $962,784.41. This represents a 36.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Century Aluminum

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 159.2% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Century Aluminum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Century Aluminum by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 30,115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $524,000 after acquiring an additional 2,198 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 411,589 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,499,000 after acquiring an additional 2,358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 2,889.3% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 2,511 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 2,427 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.59% of the company’s stock.

Century Aluminum Price Performance

Shares of CENX traded down $0.45 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $20.94. The company had a trading volume of 1,357,403 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,287,429. The company has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.00 and a beta of 2.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.71. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.91. Century Aluminum has a 1-year low of $9.65 and a 1-year high of $25.39.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CENX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research raised Century Aluminum from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. B. Riley raised their price target on Century Aluminum from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Century Aluminum from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Century Aluminum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th.

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.