Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $56.97 and last traded at $57.2180, with a volume of 1611163 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.56.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on CENX. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Century Aluminum from $46.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Zacks Research raised Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, B. Riley Financial boosted their price objective on Century Aluminum from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.33.

Century Aluminum Trading Up 7.9%

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 144.11 and a beta of 2.17.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.25. Century Aluminum had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 5.57%. The company had revenue of $633.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $661.63 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Century Aluminum Company will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Robert F. Hoffman sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.33, for a total transaction of $563,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 67,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,783,798.76. The trade was a 12.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jesse E. Gary sold 150,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total value of $7,228,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 292,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,099,430.20. The trade was a 33.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 241,097 shares of company stock valued at $11,932,418 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Century Aluminum

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CENX. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in Century Aluminum during the second quarter worth $641,000. Convergence Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Century Aluminum during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $942,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC boosted its position in Century Aluminum by 620.8% in the third quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 143,144 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,203,000 after purchasing an additional 123,285 shares during the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Century Aluminum in the 3rd quarter worth about $987,000. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Century Aluminum during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,277,000. Institutional investors own 61.59% of the company’s stock.

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.