Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Shares Down 15.5% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) were down 15.5% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $14.32 and last traded at $14.76. Approximately 2,834,998 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 106% from the average daily volume of 1,376,323 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.46.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on CENX. StockNews.com cut Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Century Aluminum from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th.

Century Aluminum Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 2.56. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.71.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The industrial products company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $631.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $515.27 million. Century Aluminum had a return on equity of 13.38% and a net margin of 14.69%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.39 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Century Aluminum will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Century Aluminum news, CAO Robert F. Hoffman sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.99, for a total transaction of $49,975.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 64,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,281,019.17. This represents a 3.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Century Aluminum

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Century Aluminum during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 2,889.3% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 2,511 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 2,427 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum in the 4th quarter worth about $54,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 159.2% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corton Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Century Aluminum in the 4th quarter valued at about $189,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.59% 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.