Engine NO. 1 LLC Purchases New Holdings in Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX)

Engine NO. 1 LLC bought a new stake in Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 136,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $2,478,000. Century Aluminum accounts for approximately 6.6% of Engine NO. 1 LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Engine NO. 1 LLC owned about 0.15% of Century Aluminum as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Century Aluminum by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 37,726 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $688,000 after purchasing an additional 3,276 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 19.5% in the 4th quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 14,899 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 2,430 shares in the last quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Century Aluminum by 76.3% in the fourth quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP now owns 567,837 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $10,346,000 after buying an additional 245,813 shares during the last quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury raised its position in Century Aluminum by 45.1% during the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 19,120 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $348,000 after acquiring an additional 5,947 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Century Aluminum by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 31,907 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $581,000 after acquiring an additional 2,549 shares during the last quarter. 61.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Century Aluminum Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CENX traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $16.59. 263,875 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,387,308. Century Aluminum has a one year low of $11.40 and a one year high of $25.39. The company's 50 day moving average is $17.74 and its 200 day moving average is $19.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 2.56.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The industrial products company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.05. Century Aluminum had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 13.38%. The company had revenue of $631.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $515.27 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Century Aluminum will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CENX. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Century Aluminum from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $22.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com lowered Century Aluminum from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Robert F. Hoffman sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.99, for a total value of $49,975.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 64,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,281,019.17. This trade represents a 3.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

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.