Encompass Capital Advisors LLC Invests $13.92 Million in Century Aluminum Company $CENX

Key Points

• Encompass Capital Advisors LLC has acquired 750,000 shares of Century Aluminum Company, worth approximately $13.9 million, increasing its ownership to about 0.80% of the company.
• Century Aluminum reported a net loss of $0.05 per share in its recent earnings, missing the consensus estimate, despite revenues of $628.1 million exceeding expectations.
• Wall Street analysts generally have a positive outlook, with a consensus rating of "Buy" and a target price averaging $24.67 for Century Aluminum shares.

Encompass Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 750,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $13,920,000. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.80% of Century Aluminum as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Century Aluminum by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,067,234 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $37,665,000 after purchasing an additional 111,203 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Century Aluminum in the first quarter worth approximately $14,726,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Century Aluminum by 68.6% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 693,752 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $12,876,000 after purchasing an additional 282,163 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Century Aluminum by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 540,448 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $9,847,000 after purchasing an additional 29,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Penn Capital Management Company LLC boosted its holdings in Century Aluminum by 32.8% in the first quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 518,374 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $9,632,000 after purchasing an additional 128,119 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.59% of the company's stock.

Century Aluminum Trading Down 1.6%

NASDAQ:CENX traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $21.73. 1,256,411 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,650,610. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.73 and a beta of 2.55. Century Aluminum Company has a 52 week low of $11.63 and a 52 week high of $25.39. The firm's 50 day moving average is $21.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.83. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.39). Century Aluminum had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 18.02%. The company had revenue of $628.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $606.10 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Century Aluminum Company will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Century Aluminum from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 3rd. B. Riley lifted their price target on shares of Century Aluminum from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Century Aluminum from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Century Aluminum has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $24.67.

Insider Transactions at Century Aluminum

In other Century Aluminum 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 62,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,456,446.03. This represents a 16.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.68% 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.