Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Rating Increased to Outperform at BMO Capital Markets

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) was upgraded by BMO Capital Markets from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm presently has a $22.00 target price on the industrial products company’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price target suggests a potential upside of 26.58% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. B. Riley boosted their price objective on Century Aluminum from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com raised Century Aluminum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Century Aluminum from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd.

Century Aluminum Stock Down 13.3 %

CENX opened at $17.38 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Century Aluminum has a 1-year low of $9.65 and a 1-year high of $25.39. The company has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a PE ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 2.50.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The industrial products company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $631.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $515.27 million. Century Aluminum had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 13.38%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.39 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Century Aluminum will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Jesse E. Gary sold 29,243 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.97, for a total value of $554,739.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 50,753 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,784.41. This represents a 36.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CENX. Perennial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Century Aluminum during the fourth quarter valued at $535,000. Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new stake in Century Aluminum during the 4th quarter worth about $225,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 131,183 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,390,000 after acquiring an additional 13,900 shares in the last quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,197,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Century Aluminum by 44.5% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 15,893 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $290,000 after buying an additional 4,896 shares during the last quarter. 61.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Century Aluminum Company 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.