Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,660,000 shares, a growth of 6.0% from the June 30th total of 5,340,000 shares. Currently, 11.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,420,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.0 days.

Insider Transactions at Century Aluminum

In related news, CEO Jesse E. Gary sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.21, for a total value of $972,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 62,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,012,265.87. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Century Aluminum

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CENX. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 13,746.2% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,787 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Century Aluminum by 199.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,878 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 1,918 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in Century Aluminum during the 4th quarter worth $68,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in Century Aluminum by 7,779.8% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 7,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $108,000 after buying an additional 6,924 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum in the 1st quarter valued at $161,000. Institutional investors own 61.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on CENX shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Century Aluminum from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd.

Century Aluminum Stock Down 8.1 %

NASDAQ CENX opened at $13.89 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 0.63. Century Aluminum has a one year low of $5.70 and a one year high of $21.37. The firm has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a PE ratio of 6.37 and a beta of 2.52.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported ($0.39) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by ($0.20). Century Aluminum had a return on equity of 4.27% and a net margin of 10.72%. The business had revenue of $489.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $520.30 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Century Aluminum will post 0.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.