StockNews.com Downgrades Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) to Sell

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Monday.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on CENX. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Century Aluminum from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. Wolfe Research upgraded Century Aluminum from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd.

Century Aluminum Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of CENX traded down $0.41 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $18.91. The company had a trading volume of 1,436,937 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,342,891. Century Aluminum has a 1-year low of $11.40 and a 1-year high of $25.39. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.87. The stock has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a PE ratio of 5.98 and a beta of 2.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The industrial products company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $631.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $515.27 million. Century Aluminum had a return on equity of 13.38% and a net margin of 14.69%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.39 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Century Aluminum will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Century Aluminum

In related news, CEO Jesse E. Gary sold 29,243 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.97, for a total value of $554,739.71. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 50,753 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,784.41. The trade was a 36.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Robert F. Hoffman sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.99, for a total value of $49,975.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 64,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,281,019.17. This trade represents a 3.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Century Aluminum

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CENX. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in Century Aluminum during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 2,889.3% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 2,511 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 2,427 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Century Aluminum during the fourth quarter worth about $54,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Century Aluminum by 159.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in Century Aluminum in the third quarter valued at about $189,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.59% of the company’s stock.

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.