Short Interest in Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Rises By 25.3%

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,490,000 shares, an increase of 25.3% from the April 30th total of 5,180,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,770,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.7 days. Currently, 12.6% of the company's stock are short sold.

Century Aluminum Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CENX traded down $0.19 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $19.53. The stock had a trading volume of 952,235 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,450,199. Century Aluminum has a 1-year low of $11.40 and a 1-year high of $25.39. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $16.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.18 and a beta of 2.54.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.25). Century Aluminum had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 13.38%. The firm had revenue of $633.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $643.80 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Century Aluminum will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Century Aluminum news, CAO Robert F. Hoffman sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were 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 owns 64,083 shares in the company, valued at $1,281,019.17. This represents a 3.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hodges Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Century Aluminum in the 1st quarter valued at $371,000. Impala Asset Management LLC grew its position in Century Aluminum by 33.6% in the 1st quarter. Impala Asset Management LLC now owns 932,154 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $17,301,000 after purchasing an additional 234,673 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Century Aluminum by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 124,001 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,301,000 after purchasing an additional 21,702 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in Century Aluminum in the 1st quarter worth $19,317,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Century Aluminum by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 59,186 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,098,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. 61.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CENX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Century Aluminum from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Century Aluminum from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $22.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th.

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.