Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Reaches New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Century Aluminum's stock reached a new 52-week high of $26.95 amidst a trading volume of over 1.25 million shares.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on the company's stock; while BMO Capital Markets and Zacks upgraded their ratings, Wall Street Zen downgraded it, resulting in an average rating of "Buy".
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of ($0.05), missing estimates, but had revenue of $628.10 million, exceeding consensus expectations of $606.10 million.

Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $26.95 and last traded at $26.90, with a volume of 1259883 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $26.40.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Century Aluminum Stock Up 1.9%

The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.19 and a beta of 2.55. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $22.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.13.

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

Insider Activity at Century Aluminum

In related news, SVP Matt Aboud sold 12,027 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 62,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,456,446.03. This represents a 16.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Century Aluminum

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CENX. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Century Aluminum by 1,291.8% during the 2nd 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 period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new stake in Century Aluminum during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Century Aluminum by 253.1% during the 2nd 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 period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in Century Aluminum by 261.8% during the 1st 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 period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Century Aluminum by 12.9% during the 2nd 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.59% of the company's stock.

Century Aluminum Company Profile

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.

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