Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Upgraded by BMO Capital Markets to "Outperform" Rating

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at BMO Capital Markets from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm presently has a $22.00 target price on the industrial products company's stock. BMO Capital Markets' price target would indicate a potential upside of 13.58% from the company's previous close.

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

Century Aluminum Stock Down 0.1 %

Century Aluminum stock traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $19.37. 1,627,133 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,731,940. Century Aluminum has a 12-month low of $10.02 and a 12-month high of $25.39. The business has a fifty day moving average of $19.29 and a 200 day moving average of $18.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.71. The firm has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 2.50.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Century Aluminum had a return on equity of 13.38% and a net margin of 14.69%. The business had revenue of $631.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $515.27 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.39 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Century Aluminum will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Century Aluminum

In other Century Aluminum news, CEO Jesse E. Gary sold 29,243 shares of Century Aluminum stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.97, for a total transaction of $554,739.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 50,753 shares of the company's stock, valued at $962,784.41. The trade was a 36.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CENX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Century Aluminum by 49.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 959,033 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $15,565,000 after purchasing an additional 319,164 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 266.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 97,396 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,581,000 after buying an additional 70,825 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 301,992 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,901,000 after buying an additional 43,881 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Century Aluminum during the 4th quarter worth $337,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Century Aluminum by 16.9% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 621,300 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $10,084,000 after acquiring an additional 89,621 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.59% of the company's stock.

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.