Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $18.28, but opened at $18.80. Century Aluminum shares last traded at $18.60, with a volume of 326,813 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CENX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Century Aluminum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. Wolfe Research upgraded 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. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Century Aluminum from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, B. Riley lifted their price objective on Century Aluminum from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th.

Century Aluminum Stock Up 1.4 %

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 stock has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.21 and a beta of 2.50. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.57.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $539.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $587.10 million. Century Aluminum had a net margin of 14.60% and a return on equity of 11.37%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.13) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Century Aluminum will post 0.62 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 50,753 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,784.41. This trade represents a 36.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Century Aluminum

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CENX. Sei Investments Co. bought a new stake in Century Aluminum during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $416,000. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Century Aluminum in the 2nd quarter worth $1,756,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 1,004.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 111,301 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,864,000 after acquiring an additional 101,226 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Century Aluminum by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 27,893 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Century Aluminum during the 3rd quarter valued at $475,000. 61.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.