Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Trading 9.6% Higher - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Century Aluminum's share price surged by 9.6% on Thursday, reaching a high of $24.05 before closing at $24.53, although trading volume decreased by 10% from the average.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on the stock, with BMO Capital Markets giving an "outperform" rating, while Wall Street Zen lowered their rating to "hold"; Century Aluminum's consensus target price is now $25.67.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of ($0.05), missing estimates, but generated stronger revenue of $628.10 million against a forecast of $606.10 million.

Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 9.6% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $24.05 and last traded at $24.53. 1,477,074 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 10% from the average session volume of 1,648,688 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.37.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Century Aluminum from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 3rd. B. Riley increased their target price on shares of Century Aluminum from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Century Aluminum from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Century Aluminum presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $25.67.

Century Aluminum Stock Performance

The company's fifty day moving average is $21.58 and its 200 day moving average is $18.90. The company has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.12 and a beta of 2.55. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported ($0.05) 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 return on equity of 18.02% and a net margin of 4.94%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Century Aluminum Company will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Century Aluminum news, SVP Matt Aboud sold 12,027 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.27, for a total value of $279,868.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 62,589 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,456,446.03. This trade represents a 16.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Century Aluminum by 60.5% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 41,622 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $773,000 after purchasing an additional 15,683 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Century Aluminum by 13.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,418 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 628 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 130.4% during the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 33,414 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $620,000 after acquiring an additional 18,909 shares during the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum during the 1st quarter worth $4,918,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 21.3% during the 1st quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 359,867 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,679,000 after acquiring an additional 63,086 shares during the last quarter. 61.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Century Aluminum Company Profile

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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