BNP Paribas Financial Markets Buys 127,115 Shares of Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX - Free Report) by 69.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 311,181 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 127,115 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned about 0.34% of Century Aluminum worth $5,670,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 539,161 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $9,824,000 after buying an additional 51,770 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Century Aluminum in the 4th quarter worth approximately $337,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 58,117 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,059,000 after buying an additional 2,801 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Century Aluminum in the 4th quarter worth approximately $313,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 30,115 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $524,000 after buying an additional 2,198 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.59% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CENX shares. BMO Capital Markets raised Century Aluminum from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $22.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com raised Century Aluminum from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th.

Century Aluminum Price Performance

CENX stock traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $16.28. 1,091,864 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,412,740. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.05. Century Aluminum has a 1-year low of $11.40 and a 1-year high of $25.39. The company has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.15 and a beta of 2.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.25). Century Aluminum had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 13.38%. The business had revenue of $633.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $643.80 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Century Aluminum will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Century Aluminum

In other Century Aluminum news, CAO Robert F. Hoffman sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.99, for a total value of $49,975.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 64,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,281,019.17. This trade represents a 3.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.76% 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.