Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Shares Purchased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX - Free Report) by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. 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 approximately 0.33% of Century Aluminum worth $4,901,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aristeia Capital L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum during the second quarter valued at about $681,000. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Century Aluminum by 266.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 97,396 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,581,000 after purchasing an additional 70,825 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Century Aluminum during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $475,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Century Aluminum by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 621,300 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $10,084,000 after purchasing an additional 89,621 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centiva Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Century Aluminum in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $559,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.59% of the company's stock.

Century Aluminum Stock Performance

CENX traded down $0.64 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $17.29. 1,020,954 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 864,677. The stock has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.78 and a beta of 2.50. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 0.56. Century Aluminum has a 12 month low of $9.65 and a 12 month high of $25.39.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.31. Century Aluminum had a net margin of 14.60% and a return on equity of 11.37%. The company had revenue of $539.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $587.10 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.13) EPS. Analysts anticipate that Century Aluminum will post 0.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CENX. StockNews.com raised shares of Century Aluminum from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. 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 report on Tuesday, December 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upped 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, November 5th. Finally, B. Riley lifted their price target on Century Aluminum from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Jesse E. Gary sold 29,243 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.68% 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.