Zacks Research Downgrades Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) to Hold

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

CENX has been the subject of several other research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Century Aluminum and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Century Aluminum from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Century Aluminum from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, B. Riley Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Century Aluminum from $68.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Century Aluminum currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.00.

Century Aluminum Price Performance

CENX opened at $60.91 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.18 and a beta of 1.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $62.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.65. Century Aluminum has a twelve month low of $16.59 and a twelve month high of $70.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at Century Aluminum

In other news, CEO Jesse E. Gary sold 150,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.47, for a total value of $8,320,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 142,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,908,912.60. The trade was a 51.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 35.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 350,858 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,301,000 after buying an additional 91,647 shares during the period. Drummond Knight Asset Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in Century Aluminum during the 4th quarter valued at $12,278,000. Glencore plc increased its position 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 valued at $2,096,596,000 after purchasing an additional 13,454,538 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Century Aluminum during the 3rd quarter valued at $6,264,000. Finally, Insight Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Century Aluminum during the 4th quarter valued at $6,036,000. 61.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.