Versor Investments LP Invests $555,000 in Century Aluminum Company $CENX

Key Points

• Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake of approximately $555,000 in Centry Aluminum Company (CENX) by purchasing 29,900 shares during the first quarter.
• Insider activity includes SVP Matt Aboud selling 12,027 shares, resulting in a 16.12% decrease in his position, while insiders own only 0.68% of the company's stock.
• Century Aluminum's recent quarterly earnings report showed a loss of ($0.05) per share, missing analysts' expectations, despite revenue exceeding forecasts at $628.10 million.

Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 29,900 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $555,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Century Aluminum by 13.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,418 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 628 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Century Aluminum by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 411,589 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $7,499,000 after purchasing an additional 2,358 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Century Aluminum by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 20,890 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $388,000 after purchasing an additional 2,381 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Century Aluminum by 19.5% in the 4th quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 14,899 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 2,430 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Century Aluminum by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 99,918 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,820,000 after purchasing an additional 2,522 shares in the last quarter. 61.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Century Aluminum news, SVP Matt Aboud sold 12,027 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,456,446.03. This represents a 16.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Century Aluminum Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ CENX traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $22.29. 1,103,388 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,498,767. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.22 and a beta of 2.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company's 50 day moving average price is $20.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.75. Century Aluminum Company has a 12 month low of $11.63 and a 12 month high of $25.39.

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 company had revenue of $628.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $606.10 million. Century Aluminum had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 18.02%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Century Aluminum Company will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on CENX shares. 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. Zacks Research raised Century Aluminum from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Century Aluminum from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Century Aluminum has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.67.

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.