Century Aluminum Co. (CENX) Lifted to ¡°Hold¡± at Zacks Investment Research

Century Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ:CENX) was upgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

According to Zacks, “Century Aluminum posted a bigger loss on a reported basis in the third quarter of 2016. Adjusted loss for the quarter was much wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Revenues tumbled year over year on lower shipments, but beat expectations. Century Aluminum is still facing a difficult pricing environment, which may continue to affect its earnings. High levels of exports from China is keeping aluminum prices under pressure. The company is also seeing high power costs at its Mt. Holly smelter. However, Century Aluminum is taking a number of measures to reduce costs and preserve cash amid a weak pricing environment. It should also gain from acquisitions and strong aluminum demand across automotive and aerospace markets. The company also has low financial leverage with no debt maturities in the near term.”

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Century Aluminum from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $7.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the stock. The stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.88.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) traded down 4.36% during trading on Tuesday, hitting $9.43. 1,059,867 shares of the company’s stock traded hands. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $8.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.14. The stock’s market cap is $821.12 million. Century Aluminum has a 12-month low of $2.63 and a 12-month high of $10.69.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 27th. The company reported ($0.31) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $333.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $447.66 million. Century Aluminum had a negative return on equity of 10.68% and a negative net margin of 9.32%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.65) EPS. Analysts anticipate that Century Aluminum will post ($0.79) earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nationwide Fund Advisors raised its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 249.1% in the second quarter. Nationwide Fund Advisors now owns 151,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $957,000 after buying an additional 107,918 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management & Equity Research Inc. bought a new position in shares of Century Aluminum during the second quarter valued at $367,000. ING Groep NV raised its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 82.9% in the second quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 1,253,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,948,000 after buying an additional 568,145 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Acquisition Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Century Aluminum during the second quarter valued at $1,393,000. Finally, DUPONT CAPITAL MANAGEMENT Corp raised its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 138.4% in the second quarter. DUPONT CAPITAL MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 144,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $912,000 after buying an additional 83,620 shares in the last quarter. 59.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Century Aluminum

Century Aluminum Company (Century) is a holding company, which is a producer of primary aluminum and operates aluminum reduction facilities, or smelters, in the United States and Iceland. The Company operates through primary aluminum segment. Its primary aluminum facilities produce standard grade primary aluminum products.

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