Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The industrial products company reported $2.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.13, FiscalAI reports. Century Aluminum had a return on equity of 38.74% and a net margin of 22.63%.The company had revenue of $752.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $817.15 million. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 59.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Here are the key takeaways from Century Aluminum’s conference call:

• Positive Sentiment: Century completed the Mount Holly expansion and restarted Grundartangi Line 2, bringing all major assets to full or near-full capacity. Mount Holly’s full production benefit will begin appearing in Q3, although post-restart instability is expected to weigh modestly on that quarter.
• Positive Sentiment: Q2 shipments rose 6% sequentially to approximately 131,000 tons, while adjusted EBITDA increased to $327 million on stronger aluminum prices, regional premiums, and higher volumes. Management expects Q3 adjusted EBITDA of $325 million–$345 million.
• Positive Sentiment: The balance sheet strengthened materially, with $388 million of quarter-end cash, $66 million of debt repayment, no revolver borrowings, and cash exceeding total debt by the end of July. Lower growth capital spending and expected working-capital recovery should support stronger second-half cash conversion.
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted a favorable aluminum market, citing an expected global deficit of roughly one million tons in 2026, continued deficits in 2027, and historically low inventories. The company also expects Jamalco’s new turbine to reduce energy costs by roughly $20 per ton and provide greater power reliability.
• Neutral Sentiment: Century continues targeting a final investment decision and groundbreaking for its Oklahoma smelter by year-end 2026, with first hot metal expected by late 2029. The project has potential support from a $500 million DOE grant, financing discussions, the Hawesville stake, and a new tariff incentive, but final energy contracts, engineering, financing, and community concerns remain execution milestones.

Century Aluminum Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CENX traded up $5.28 during trading on Friday, reaching $51.23. The stock had a trading volume of 3,739,269 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,841,968. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a PE ratio of 8.85 and a beta of 1.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.30 and a quick ratio of 1.36. Century Aluminum has a 52 week low of $20.91 and a 52 week high of $70.43. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $49.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.89.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CENX. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Century Aluminum in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in Century Aluminum in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Century Aluminum by 48.3% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new stake in Century Aluminum during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum during the 4th quarter valued at $64,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on CENX. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Century Aluminum from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Century Aluminum from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Century Aluminum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Zacks Research cut shares of Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, B. Riley Financial lowered their price target on Century Aluminum from $86.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Century Aluminum has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.00.

About Century Aluminum

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.