Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Century Aluminum received a "strong-buy" rating upgrade from Wells Fargo & Company, highlighting increased investor confidence in the stock.
• The stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" with an average target price of $28.50, while shares have fluctuated between a 1-year low of $13.05 and a high of $32.40.
• Recent insider transactions include significant stock sales by senior vice presidents, indicating potential market fluctuations in the company's ownership structure.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

CENX has been the topic of several other research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Century Aluminum from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a report on Wednesday. B. Riley boosted their price target on shares of Century Aluminum from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Century Aluminum from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $28.50.

Century Aluminum Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of CENX stock opened at $31.32 on Wednesday. Century Aluminum has a 1 year low of $13.05 and a 1 year high of $32.40. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $24.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.00 and a beta of 2.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

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 business had revenue of $628.10 million during 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Century Aluminum will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Century Aluminum

In other Century Aluminum news, SVP Agust F. Hafberg sold 9,493 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total transaction of $264,949.63. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 55,260 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,542,306.60. This represents a 14.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matt Aboud sold 12,027 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.27, for a total transaction of $279,868.29. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 62,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,456,446.03. The trade was a 16.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sheets Smith Investment Management acquired a new position in Century Aluminum during the 3rd quarter valued at about $652,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Century Aluminum by 103.1% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 407,939 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $11,977,000 after purchasing an additional 207,040 shares during the period. Praxis Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Century Aluminum during the 3rd quarter valued at about $228,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Century Aluminum by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 16,772 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in Century Aluminum by 139.8% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 252,331 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,547,000 after purchasing an additional 147,087 shares during the period. 61.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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