Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Stock Price Up 5% – Still a Buy?

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) shares shot up 5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $18.08 and last traded at $18.04. 350,267 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 1,195,951 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.17.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CENX has been the topic of a number of research reports. B. Riley boosted their price target on Century Aluminum from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com raised Century Aluminum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Century Aluminum from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Century Aluminum from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd.

Century Aluminum Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $20.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.08 and a beta of 2.53.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.31. Century Aluminum had a net margin of 14.60% and a return on equity of 11.37%. The company had revenue of $539.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $587.10 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.13) EPS. On average, analysts predict that Century Aluminum will post 0.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Century Aluminum

In other news, CEO Jesse E. Gary sold 29,243 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.97, for a total transaction of $554,739.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 50,753 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,784.41. This trade represents a 36.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CENX. Mountaineer Partners Management LLC grew its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 1,607.1% in the third quarter. Mountaineer Partners Management LLC now owns 22,849,097 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $370,841,000 after purchasing an additional 21,510,639 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Century Aluminum by 49.9% in 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 during the period. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in Century Aluminum by 341.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 411,968 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,900,000 after buying an additional 318,579 shares during the period. Yaupon Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 401.5% in the third quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP now owns 322,024 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,226,000 after acquiring an additional 257,812 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Century Aluminum in the third quarter valued at about $4,163,000. 61.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Century Aluminum

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.