Nicholas Investment Partners LP Invests $9.11 Million in Century Aluminum Company $CENX

Nicholas Investment Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 197,999 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,110,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 22.1% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 39,001 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $724,000 after buying an additional 7,051 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new position in shares of Century Aluminum in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Century Aluminum by 1.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 59,186 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,098,000 after acquiring an additional 1,069 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Century Aluminum by 21.2% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 124,001 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,301,000 after acquiring an additional 21,702 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Century Aluminum by 7.1% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 147,046 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,650,000 after acquiring an additional 9,721 shares in the last quarter. 61.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Century Aluminum from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Century Aluminum from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Century Aluminum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Century Aluminum currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.00.

Century Aluminum Price Performance

CENX stock opened at $43.66 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.32 billion, a PE ratio of 7.54 and a beta of 1.96. Century Aluminum Company has a 12 month low of $20.91 and a 12 month high of $70.43. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $46.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.83. The company has a current ratio of 2.75, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter was up 59.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Century Aluminum Company will post 8.34 earnings per share for the current year.

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.