Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $72.00.

CENX has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group started coverage on Century Aluminum in a research report on Monday, August 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Century Aluminum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Weiss Ratings lowered Century Aluminum from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Zacks Research cut Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Century Aluminum

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum during the second quarter worth approximately $474,129,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,939,794 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $271,901,000 after acquiring an additional 1,094,257 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 1.8% in 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. boosted its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 109.7% in 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 grew its position 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 during the last quarter. 61.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Century Aluminum Price Performance

Shares of CENX opened at $43.92 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $46.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.88. The stock has a market cap of $4.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.59 and a beta of 1.96. Century Aluminum has a 12 month low of $20.91 and a 12 month high of $70.43.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.13. Century Aluminum had a return on equity of 33.83% and a net margin of 22.63%.The company had revenue of $752.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $817.15 million. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 59.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Century Aluminum will post 8.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.