Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Sets New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) reached a new 52-week high of $25.94, marking a significant increase from its previous close of $24.52.
• Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a "hold" to a "strong-buy" rating, while B. Riley raised its target price from $25.00 to $28.00.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings miss with an EPS of ($0.05), despite exceeding revenue expectations with $628.10 million compared to the consensus estimate of $606.10 million.

Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $25.83 and last traded at $25.94, with a volume of 443992 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $24.52.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CENX shares. B. Riley upped their target price on Century Aluminum from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Century Aluminum from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Century Aluminum from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Century Aluminum presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $25.67.

Century Aluminum Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $21.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.49 and a beta of 2.55.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.39). Century Aluminum had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 18.02%. The company had revenue of $628.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $606.10 million. On average, analysts expect that Century Aluminum Company will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Century Aluminum

In other news, SVP Matt Aboud sold 12,027 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.27, for a total transaction of $279,868.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 62,589 shares in the company, valued at $1,456,446.03. This trade represents a 16.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Century Aluminum

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CENX. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 1,291.8% during the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,364 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,266 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum during the first quarter valued at $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 253.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 1,306 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 261.8% during the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,020 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 2,909 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 12.9% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,414 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. 61.59% of the stock is currently 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.