Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Shares of Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. 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.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on CENX shares. 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 note on Tuesday. StockNews.com cut shares of Century Aluminum from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, B. Riley boosted their target price on Century Aluminum from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Century Aluminum

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Century Aluminum by 43.4% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 230,860 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,553,000 after buying an additional 69,910 shares in the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum during the 1st quarter valued at $161,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 314.4% during the 1st quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 109,004 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,678,000 after acquiring an additional 82,703 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 45,288 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $697,000 after acquiring an additional 1,102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum during the first quarter worth $601,000. 61.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Century Aluminum Stock Up 20.0 %

The company has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.12 and a beta of 2.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $15.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.19.

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.