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

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,490,000 shares, a growth 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 shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Transactions at Century Aluminum

In related news, CAO Robert F. Hoffman sold 2,500 shares of Century Aluminum stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.99, for a total transaction of $49,975.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 64,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,281,019.17. The trade was a 3.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Century Aluminum

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hodges Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $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 valued at $17,301,000 after acquiring an additional 234,673 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 21.2% during the first 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 valued at $2,301,000 after purchasing an additional 21,702 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum during the first quarter valued at $19,317,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 1.8% in the first 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 owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CENX. BMO Capital Markets raised Century Aluminum from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $22.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Century Aluminum from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th.

Century Aluminum Price Performance

Shares of CENX stock traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $19.72. The stock had a trading volume of 2,180,688 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,449,637. 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 $1.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.24 and a beta of 2.54. Century Aluminum has a one year low of $11.40 and a one year high of $25.39. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $16.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.69.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $0.28 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $643.80 million. Equities analysts forecast that Century Aluminum will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

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.