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

Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $72.00.

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Century Aluminum from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 12th. UBS Group started coverage on Century Aluminum in a research note on Monday, August 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Century Aluminum from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st.

Century Aluminum Price Performance

CENX opened at $40.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.75 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The company has a market capitalization of $4.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.04 and a beta of 1.99. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $45.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.08. Century Aluminum has a 1 year low of $25.40 and a 1 year high of $70.43.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by $0.13. Century Aluminum had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 33.83%. The company had revenue of $752.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $817.15 million. The firm’s revenue was up 59.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Century Aluminum will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Century Aluminum

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in Century Aluminum by 10.6% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 10,868 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $500,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares during the last quarter. Steamboat Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Steamboat Capital Partners LLC now owns 296,666 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,650,000 after buying an additional 20,418 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 65.6% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 679,205 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,250,000 after acquiring an additional 269,112 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in Century Aluminum by 19.8% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 18,434 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $848,000 after acquiring an additional 3,052 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nykredit A S bought a new stake in Century Aluminum in the 2nd quarter valued at about $84,000. Institutional investors own 61.59% of the company’s stock.

About Century Aluminum

Century Aluminum Company is a producer of primary aluminum. The company operates aluminum smelters that convert alumina into aluminum metal, supplying standard-grade and value-added products used in transportation, construction, packaging, and other industrial applications.

Century Aluminum’s operations are primarily located in the United States and Iceland. Its U.S. portfolio includes facilities in Sebree, Kentucky, and Mount Holly, South Carolina, while its Icelandic operations include the Grundartangi smelter, operated through its Norðurál subsidiary.