Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 43,881 Shares of Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX - Free Report) by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 301,992 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 43,881 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.33% of Century Aluminum worth $4,901,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MQS Management LLC increased its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter. MQS Management LLC now owns 11,792 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Century Aluminum by 39.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,347 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 1,233 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 5.0% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 27,893 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $467,000 after acquiring an additional 1,335 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in Century Aluminum by 104.1% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 2,716 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 1,385 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 366,804 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $6,144,000 after purchasing an additional 1,641 shares during the period. 61.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Century Aluminum Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CENX traded down $0.32 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $22.76. 654,470 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,332,505. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.11 billion, a PE ratio of 7.72 and a beta of 2.47. Century Aluminum has a one year low of $7.28 and a one year high of $24.21. The business's 50 day moving average is $17.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.31. Century Aluminum had a return on equity of 11.37% and a net margin of 14.60%. The firm had revenue of $539.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $587.10 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.13) EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Century Aluminum will post 0.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CENX. B. Riley lifted their target price on Century Aluminum from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Century Aluminum from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Century Aluminum from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th.

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.