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

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 4,230,000 shares, a drop of 11.9% from the November 15th total of 4,800,000 shares. Currently, 8.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,080,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.9 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on CENX shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Century Aluminum from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. B. Riley lifted their price objective on shares of Century Aluminum from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Century Aluminum from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Century Aluminum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th.

Century Aluminum Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CENX traded down $0.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $20.87. 620,535 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,307,142. Century Aluminum has a 52 week low of $8.87 and a 52 week high of $25.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a PE ratio of 6.98 and a beta of 2.50. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $20.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.16.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.31. Century Aluminum had a net margin of 14.60% and a return on equity of 11.37%. The company had revenue of $539.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $587.10 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.13) EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Century Aluminum will post 0.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Century Aluminum

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CENX. Quest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 104.1% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 2,716 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 1,385 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 39.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,347 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 1,233 shares during the period. Olympiad Research LP purchased a new position in shares of Century Aluminum during the third quarter valued at about $180,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Century Aluminum during the third quarter valued at about $189,000. Finally, MQS Management LLC increased its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 8.1% during the second quarter. MQS Management LLC now owns 11,792 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $198,000 after buying an additional 883 shares during the period. 61.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.