Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Sets New 52-Week High - Should You 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.

Shares of Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX - Get Free Report) reached 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 Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Century Aluminum Trading Down 0.8%

The firm has a market cap of $2.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.77 and a beta of 2.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 1.75. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $22.58 and a 200-day moving average of $19.26.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Century Aluminum news, SVP Matt Aboud sold 12,027 shares of Century Aluminum 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,456,446.03. The trade was a 16.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Century Aluminum

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CENX. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,266 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 253.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 1,306 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 261.8% in the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,020 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 2,909 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,414 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. 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.