Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $66.88, but opened at $62.29. Century Aluminum shares last traded at $63.2450, with a volume of 201,470 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CENX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Century Aluminum from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. B. Riley Financial raised their price target on shares of Century Aluminum from $68.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Zacks Research raised shares of Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $75.00 price target on shares of Century Aluminum and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.00.

Century Aluminum Trading Down 2.2%

The firm has a market capitalization of $6.47 billion, a PE ratio of 19.39 and a beta of 1.91. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $59.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 2.30.

Insider Transactions at Century Aluminum

In other news, CEO Jesse E. Gary sold 150,000 shares of Century Aluminum stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.47, for a total transaction of $8,320,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 142,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,908,912.60. The trade was a 51.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matt Aboud sold 2,971 shares of Century Aluminum stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.67, for a total transaction of $156,482.57. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 64,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,415,280.81. This trade represents a 4.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 185,626 shares of company stock valued at $10,271,891. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Century Aluminum

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Glencore plc raised its stake in Century Aluminum by 33.6% during the 4th quarter. Glencore plc now owns 53,511,894 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,096,596,000 after acquiring an additional 13,454,538 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Century Aluminum by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,939,794 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $271,901,000 after acquiring an additional 1,094,257 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Century Aluminum by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,295,711 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $168,306,000 after acquiring an additional 77,895 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Century Aluminum by 109.7% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,830,324 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $107,422,000 after acquiring an additional 957,571 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Century Aluminum by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,609,093 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $63,044,000 after acquiring an additional 176,730 shares in the last quarter. 61.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Century Aluminum Company Profile

Century Aluminum Company is a primary aluminum producer that develops and operates smelters designed to supply low-carbon, high-purity aluminum products to a range of industrial and commercial markets. Established in 1995, the company has grown to become a significant North American aluminum producer with an expanding international footprint. Century Aluminum is headquartered in the United States and is focused on energy-efficient operations and cost management.

The company’s core operations include three primary aluminum smelting facilities located in Hawesville, Kentucky; Mount Holly, South Carolina; and Grundartangi, Iceland.