Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Lowers Position in Century Aluminum Company $CENX

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs has decreased its stake in Century Aluminum by 8.4%, holding 379,348 shares worth approximately $7.04 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Several hedge funds have recently increased their positions in Century Aluminum, with notable increases from Woodline Partners and Wellington Management.
• Century Aluminum reported a loss of $0.05 per share in its latest earnings, missing analyst estimates, despite higher-than-expected revenue of $628.1 million for the quarter.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lowered its position in Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX - Free Report) by 8.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 379,348 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 34,918 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned approximately 0.41% of Century Aluminum worth $7,041,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum during the 1st quarter valued at $19,317,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Century Aluminum during the 1st quarter valued at about $14,726,000. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Century Aluminum in the first quarter valued at about $13,920,000. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in Century Aluminum in the first quarter worth about $7,309,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 333.7% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 457,728 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $8,340,000 after acquiring an additional 352,186 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.59% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Century Aluminum

In other news, SVP Matt Aboud sold 12,027 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 62,589 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,456,446.03. This represents a 16.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Century Aluminum Trading Up 1.8%

NASDAQ:CENX traded up $0.48 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $26.88. The company had a trading volume of 823,345 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,659,083. Century Aluminum Company has a 1 year low of $13.05 and a 1 year high of $26.93. The company has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.19 and a beta of 2.55. The company has a 50-day moving average of $22.29 and a 200 day moving average of $19.13. 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 announced its quarterly 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). Century Aluminum had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 18.02%. The firm had revenue of $628.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $606.10 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Century Aluminum Company will post 2.76 earnings per share 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.