Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Shares Down 3% - Time to Sell?

Shares of Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX - Get Free Report) were down 3% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $17.39 and last traded at $17.39. Approximately 48,391 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 366,509 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.93.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CENX shares. Wolfe Research raised shares of Century Aluminum from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $27.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. B. Riley lifted their price objective on Century Aluminum from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. 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 report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Century Aluminum from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th.

Century Aluminum Trading Down 3.6 %

The company's 50 day simple moving average is $20.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.78 and a beta of 2.50.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jesse E. Gary sold 29,243 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.97, for a total transaction of $554,739.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 50,753 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,784.41. The trade was a 36.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Century Aluminum

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mountaineer Partners Management LLC lifted its stake in Century Aluminum by 1,607.1% during the third quarter. Mountaineer Partners Management LLC now owns 22,849,097 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $370,841,000 after purchasing an additional 21,510,639 shares during the last quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 1,208.7% during the 2nd quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,401,638 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $23,477,000 after buying an additional 1,294,538 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 49.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 959,033 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $15,565,000 after buying an additional 319,164 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 341.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 411,968 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $6,900,000 after buying an additional 318,579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Century Aluminum by 30.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,186,243 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $19,870,000 after acquiring an additional 276,304 shares in the last quarter. 61.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.