Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) shares gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $17.54, but opened at $18.75. Century Aluminum shares last traded at $19.72, with a volume of 231,672 shares changing hands.

The industrial products company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.31. Century Aluminum had a net margin of 10.32% and a negative return on equity of 0.04%. The business had revenue of $539.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $587.10 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.13) earnings per share.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Century Aluminum from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, B. Riley raised their price objective on shares of Century Aluminum from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Century Aluminum

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Century Aluminum by 5.4% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 55,316 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $898,000 after acquiring an additional 2,814 shares during the period. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum in the 3rd quarter valued at $300,000. Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum in the 3rd quarter worth about $256,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 36.5% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 26,977 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $438,000 after purchasing an additional 7,212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 612.1% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 13,993 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 12,028 shares in the last quarter. 61.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Century Aluminum Stock Up 4.4 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.65 and a beta of 2.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $15.67 and its 200-day moving average is $16.21.

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.