Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Short Interest Down 12.8% in January

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,300,000 shares, a drop of 12.8% from the January 15th total of 4,930,000 shares. Approximately 8.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,230,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CENX shares. StockNews.com upgraded Century Aluminum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Century Aluminum from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wolfe Research upgraded Century Aluminum from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, B. Riley raised their price objective on Century Aluminum from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th.

Century Aluminum Stock Up 4.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CENX traded up $0.90 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $21.84. 1,666,418 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,507,267. The firm has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.30 and a beta of 2.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.71. Century Aluminum has a 52-week low of $9.65 and a 52-week high of $25.39. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.97.

Insider Activity at Century Aluminum

In related news, CEO Jesse E. Gary sold 29,243 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.97, for a total transaction of $554,739.71. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 50,753 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,784.41. This represents a 36.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Century Aluminum

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Century Aluminum by 49.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 959,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,565,000 after purchasing an additional 319,164 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Century Aluminum by 266.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 97,396 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,581,000 after purchasing an additional 70,825 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Century Aluminum by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 301,992 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,901,000 after purchasing an additional 43,881 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Century Aluminum during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $337,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Century Aluminum by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 621,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,084,000 after purchasing an additional 89,621 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.59% of the company’s stock.

Century Aluminum Company Profile

Century Aluminum Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production of standard-grade and value-added primary aluminum products in the United States and Iceland. It also owns and operates an alumina production facility in Iceland, and a carbon anode production facility in the Netherlands.