Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Trading 5.7% Higher - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Century Aluminum shares rose 5.7% on Tuesday, trading as high as $58.03 after closing at $54.92, though volume was well below average.
• Analysts have turned more bullish on the stock, with multiple firms raising price targets or upgrading ratings. Century Aluminum now has a consensus Buy rating and an average price target of $80.00.
• The company recently reported Q1 earnings of $1.25 per share, matching estimates, while revenue came in below forecasts at $633.7 million. Insiders have also sold shares over the past 90 days, though institutional ownership remains high at 61.59%.

Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 5.7% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $58.03 and last traded at $58.0240. 682,701 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 2,173,062 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.92.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Century Aluminum and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Century Aluminum from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Century Aluminum from $68.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Century Aluminum from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Century Aluminum from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have assigned a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.00.

Century Aluminum Stock Up 7.1%

The firm has a market cap of $5.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.58 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $58.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.74.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.25. Century Aluminum had a return on equity of 13.59% and a net margin of 13.75%.The business had revenue of $633.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $661.63 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. The business's revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Century Aluminum Company will post 10.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Century Aluminum news, EVP John Dezee sold 66,000 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 97,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,952,655.84. This represents a 40.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Robert F. Hoffman sold 10,529 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.51, for a total transaction of $594,993.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 56,643 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,200,895.93. This trade represents a 15.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 251,626 shares of company stock valued at $13,619,411 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Century Aluminum

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CENX. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 22.1% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 39,001 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $724,000 after purchasing an additional 7,051 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new position in Century Aluminum in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,069 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 21,702 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Century Aluminum by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 147,046 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,650,000 after acquiring an additional 9,721 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.59% of the company's stock.

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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