Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Upgraded by Zacks Research to "Strong-Buy" Rating

Key Points

• Century Aluminum has been upgraded from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating by Zacks Research, reflecting growing analyst confidence in the stock.
• The company reported a quarterly revenue of $628.10 million, surpassing analyst estimates, but missed earnings expectations with a reported EPS of ($0.05).
• Shares opened at $21.6050 on Monday, with a current consensus rating of "Buy" and a price target of $24.67 according to MarketBeat.

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX - Free Report) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

CENX has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Century Aluminum from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, B. Riley boosted their price target on Century Aluminum from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Century Aluminum has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.67.

Century Aluminum Price Performance

Shares of CENX traded up $0.24 on Monday, reaching $22.21. The stock had a trading volume of 1,884,674 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,473,134. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $20.43 and a 200 day moving average of $18.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.07 billion, a PE ratio of 19.15 and a beta of 2.53. Century Aluminum has a twelve month low of $11.63 and a twelve month high of $25.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.39). The firm had revenue of $628.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $606.10 million. Century Aluminum had a return on equity of 18.02% and a net margin of 4.94%. Sell-side analysts expect that Century Aluminum will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Century Aluminum

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum during the first quarter worth $25,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Century Aluminum by 1,291.8% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,364 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,266 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,306 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in Century Aluminum by 261.8% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,020 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 2,909 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Century Aluminum by 12.9% in the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,414 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.59% of the company's stock.

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.