Century Aluminum Company $CENX Shares Sold by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its holdings in Century Aluminum Company (CENX) by 32.5%, selling 96,882 shares and retaining approximately 200,899 shares valued at $3.62 million.
• Equities research analysts are optimistic about Century Aluminum, with BMO Capital Markets and Zacks Research giving positive ratings, while the average target price for the stock is set at $25.67.
• Century Aluminum reported a loss of ($0.05) earnings per share last quarter, missing expectations, despite revenue exceeding estimates at $628.10 million.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its position in shares of Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX - Free Report) by 32.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 200,899 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 96,882 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.22% of Century Aluminum worth $3,620,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Three Seasons Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Century Aluminum during the 2nd quarter valued at about $451,000. Hodges Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum in the first quarter valued at about $371,000. Impala Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 33.6% in the first quarter. Impala Asset Management LLC now owns 932,154 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $17,301,000 after purchasing an additional 234,673 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 21.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 21,702 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Century Aluminum during the 1st quarter worth approximately $19,317,000. 61.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Century Aluminum

In related news, SVP Matt Aboud sold 12,027 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.27, for a total transaction of $279,868.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 62,589 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,456,446.03. This represents a 16.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CENX shares. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a report on Friday, August 8th. Zacks Research upgraded Century Aluminum from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen cut Century Aluminum from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 3rd. Finally, B. Riley boosted their target price on shares of Century Aluminum from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Century Aluminum currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $25.67.

Century Aluminum Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CENX opened at $25.85 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.28 and a beta of 2.55. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.42. Century Aluminum Company has a 52 week low of $13.05 and a 52 week high of $28.43. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.39). The business 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Century Aluminum Company will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

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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