Investors Buy High Volume of Century Aluminum Call Options (NASDAQ:CENX)

Key Points

• There was a significant increase in options trading for Century Aluminum, with investors buying 16,571 call options, a 762% increase from the usual volume.
• Insider transactions revealed that SVP Matt Aboud sold 12,027 shares of the company, decreasing his ownership by 16.12%.
• Brokerages have varied outlooks on Century Aluminum, with Zacks upgrading it to a "strong-buy" while others maintain a "buy" or "hold" rating, and a consensus target price of $25.67.

Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors purchased 16,571 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 762% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,922 call options.

Insider Transactions at Century Aluminum

In other Century Aluminum news, SVP Matt Aboud sold 12,027 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.27, for a total transaction of $279,868.29. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 62,589 shares in the company, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Century Aluminum

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in 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 in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new position in Century Aluminum in the first quarter worth $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Century Aluminum by 253.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,306 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in Century Aluminum by 261.8% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,020 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 2,909 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Century Aluminum by 12.9% in the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,414 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.59% of the company's stock.

Century Aluminum Stock Performance

Shares of CENX stock traded up $1.77 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $29.76. The stock had a trading volume of 1,442,513 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,680,809. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.78 billion, a PE ratio of 25.63 and a beta of 2.55. Century Aluminum has a twelve month low of $13.05 and a twelve month high of $30.08. The stock's 50 day moving average is $23.25 and its 200 day moving average is $19.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

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 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $606.10 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Century Aluminum will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CENX. Zacks Research raised Century Aluminum from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. B. Riley boosted their price objective on Century Aluminum from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Century Aluminum from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a research report on Friday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Century Aluminum currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $25.67.

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.

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