Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Hits New 12-Month Low - Time to Sell?

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $15.71 and last traded at $16.41, with a volume of 1056349 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $16.82.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CENX has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Century Aluminum from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $22.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com lowered Century Aluminum from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th.

Century Aluminum Stock Down 5.3 %

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 company's fifty day moving average price is $17.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a PE ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 2.70.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The industrial products company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $631.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $515.27 million. Century Aluminum had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 13.38%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.39 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Century Aluminum will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Century Aluminum

In related news, CAO Robert F. Hoffman sold 2,500 shares of Century Aluminum stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.99, for a total value of $49,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 64,083 shares in the company, valued at $1,281,019.17. The trade was a 3.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Century Aluminum

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Glencore plc acquired a new stake in Century Aluminum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $729,427,000. Pertento Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Century Aluminum in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $7,678,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 348.4% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 496,970 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $9,055,000 after buying an additional 386,133 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Century Aluminum by 333.7% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 457,728 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $8,340,000 after acquiring an additional 352,186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Century Aluminum during the 1st quarter valued at about $6,077,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.59% 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.