Aberdeen Group plc Purchases Shares of 13,044 Century Aluminum Company $CENX

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc has acquired 13,044 shares of Century Aluminum Company (CENX), valued at approximately $235,000, during the second quarter.
• Numerous institutional investors are increasing their stakes in CENX, with 61.59% of the stock now owned by such investors and hedge funds.
• Analysts have varying ratings for CENX, with two analysts giving a Strong Buy rating, three a Buy rating, and one a Hold rating, resulting in an average consensus target price of $28.50.

Aberdeen Group plc purchased a new position in shares of Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 13,044 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $235,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CENX. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Century Aluminum by 13.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,418 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $101,000 after buying an additional 628 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 1.8% during the first 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 last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,266 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new stake in Century Aluminum in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in Century Aluminum by 8.1% in the second quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 31,124 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $560,000 after acquiring an additional 2,329 shares during the last quarter. 61.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CENX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of Century Aluminum from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Century Aluminum to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Century Aluminum from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 3rd. Finally, B. Riley upped their target price on Century Aluminum from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Century Aluminum currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $28.50.

Century Aluminum Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Century Aluminum stock opened at $32.46 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.98 and a beta of 2.52. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.75. Century Aluminum Company has a 12-month low of $13.05 and a 12-month high of $33.25. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.39). Century Aluminum had a return on equity of 18.02% and a net margin of 4.94%.The firm had revenue of $628.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $606.10 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Century Aluminum Company will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Century Aluminum

In other news, SVP Matt Aboud sold 12,027 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.27, for a total value of $279,868.29. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 62,589 shares in the company, valued at $1,456,446.03. The trade was a 16.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Agust F. Hafberg sold 9,493 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total value of $264,949.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 55,260 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,542,306.60. This represents a 14.66% 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.

Century Aluminum 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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