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

Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX)’s share price gapped down prior to trading 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 traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CENX shares. 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 research report on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. B. Riley Financial upped their price objective on shares of Century Aluminum from $68.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $75.00 price target on shares of Century Aluminum and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.00.

Century Aluminum Stock Performance

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Century Aluminum

In other news, CAO Robert F. Hoffman sold 10,529 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.51, for a total value of $594,993.79. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 56,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,200,895.93. This represents a 15.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jesse E. Gary sold 150,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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. This trade represents a 51.27% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 185,626 shares of company stock worth $10,271,891. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Century Aluminum

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CENX. Hollencrest Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Century Aluminum during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Century Aluminum during the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. Private Trust Co. NA purchased a new position in shares of Century Aluminum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Century Aluminum during the 1st quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Century Aluminum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other 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.