Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Shares Up 5.5% – Still a Buy?

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX)’s share price rose 5.5% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $19.33 and last traded at $18.72. Approximately 391,463 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 1,326,955 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.75.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on CENX. B. Riley dropped their price target on shares of Century Aluminum from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com raised Century Aluminum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Century Aluminum from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th.

Century Aluminum Stock Up 3.4 %

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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion, a PE ratio of 8.85 and a beta of 2.48. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $15.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.17.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The industrial products company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.05). Century Aluminum had a negative return on equity of 0.04% and a net margin of 10.32%. The company had revenue of $560.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $530.90 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Century Aluminum will post 0.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Century Aluminum

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Century Aluminum by 0.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,819,805 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $89,567,000 after acquiring an additional 39,900 shares during the period. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 1,208.7% during the second quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,401,638 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $23,477,000 after buying an additional 1,294,538 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Century Aluminum by 30.4% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,186,243 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $19,870,000 after acquiring an additional 276,304 shares in the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP raised its position in Century Aluminum by 1,147.0% in the first quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 976,894 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,034,000 after purchasing an additional 898,554 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Impala Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 20.6% during the 2nd quarter. Impala Asset Management LLC now owns 850,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,238,000 after buying an additional 145,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 61.59% of the company’s stock.

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.