Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Century Aluminum (CENX) from a "strong-buy" to a "hold" in a research note issued Monday.
• Despite that downgrade, analyst sentiment is mixed-to-positive overall — three analysts rate CENX a Buy, the consensus is a Moderate Buy with a $63 price target, and B. Riley and Wells Fargo recently raised targets to $86 and $69 respectively.
• Significant insider selling has occurred recently: the CEO sold 150,000 shares and insiders sold 401,626 shares (about $20.85M) in the last 90 days, leaving insiders with only 0.76% ownership.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on CENX. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Century Aluminum from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. B. Riley Financial increased their price target on Century Aluminum from $68.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Century Aluminum from $61.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.00.

Century Aluminum Price Performance

Shares of CENX opened at $66.03 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $6.53 billion, a PE ratio of 165.08 and a beta of 1.99. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $52.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.97. Century Aluminum has a twelve month low of $13.05 and a twelve month high of $67.63.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.25. The firm had revenue of $633.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $661.63 million. Century Aluminum had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 5.57%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Century Aluminum will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Jesse E. Gary sold 150,000 shares of Century Aluminum stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.47, for a total value of $8,320,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 142,580 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,908,912.60. The trade was a 51.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Dezee sold 66,000 shares of Century Aluminum stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.72, for a total value of $3,347,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 97,647 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,952,655.84. This represents a 40.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 401,626 shares of company stock valued at $20,847,911 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new position in shares of Century Aluminum in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Private Trust Co. NA bought a new position in shares of Century Aluminum in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 253.1% in 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. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in shares of Century Aluminum in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Century Aluminum in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. 61.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Century Aluminum Company Profile

Century Aluminum Company is a primary aluminum producer that develops and operates smelters designed to supply low-carbon, high-purity aluminum products to a range of industrial and commercial markets. Established in 1995, the company has grown to become a significant North American aluminum producer with an expanding international footprint. Century Aluminum is headquartered in the United States and is focused on energy-efficient operations and cost management.

The company's core operations include three primary aluminum smelting facilities located in Hawesville, Kentucky; Mount Holly, South Carolina; and Grundartangi, Iceland.

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