Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Century Aluminum has a consensus “Hold” rating from five analysts: three buys, one hold, and one sell. The average 12-month price target is $76.00.
• Analyst views have recently diverged, with Wells Fargo raising its target to $79 and BMO assigning a $75 target, while Weiss Ratings and Zacks Research downgraded the stock, including a “strong sell” rating from Zacks.
• CENX opened at $42.66 and has a market capitalization of approximately $4.22 billion; institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.59% of its outstanding shares.

Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the five research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $76.00.

CENX has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets set a $75.00 target price on Century Aluminum and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Century Aluminum from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Century Aluminum from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Century Aluminum from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Century Aluminum from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th.

Century Aluminum Trading Down 3.0%

NASDAQ CENX opened at $42.66 on Thursday. Century Aluminum has a 12 month low of $20.21 and a 12 month high of $70.43. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.96. The company has a current ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market capitalization of $4.22 billion, a PE ratio of 12.73 and a beta of 1.96.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Century Aluminum

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lido Advisors LLC raised its stake in Century Aluminum by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 13,091 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $768,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments lifted its holdings in Century Aluminum by 3.2% during the first quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 7,866 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $462,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Century Aluminum by 26.5% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,419 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in Century Aluminum by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 10,269 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $402,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 48.3% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,185 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 386 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 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.

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