A Big Upgrade for Century Aluminum

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Every day, the sun rises on Wall Street, and a plethora of professional analysts wake to issue new opinions on stocks. Here at the Fool, we use our "This Just In" column to examine some of these picks -- and the track records of the comapnies behind them -- so individuals can make better investing decisions.

In addition to following professional banks, anyone can use Motley Fool CAPS to monitor the collective opinions of more than 140,000 members, many of whom demonstrate better investing insight than published analysts do.

More CAPS members have been jumping to the bullish side of Century Aluminum (Nasdaq: CENX) over the past year -- enough to upgrade it all the way from a two-star rank late last year to the five-star level in the past week. A total of 407 members have given their opinion on Century Aluminum, with many of them offering analysis and commentary explaining the recent optimism.

Century Aluminum supplies major customers such as Rio Tinto's (NYSE: RTP) aluminum unit, BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP), and Glencore International. The company does face some of the same near-term oversupply issues as Alcoa (NYSE: AA) and Aluminum Corp. of China (NYSE: ACH). However, many CAPS members see this as a good time to invest in metals companies such as Century Aluminum, because the long term looks bright.

Just as some Nucor (NYSE: NUE) and U.S. Steel (NYSE: X) investors are calling a bottom in steel, Century has also seen signs of a bottom in aluminum. It's noted stabilization in the U.S. and European markets, and the company believes that China's stimulus plan is proving effective. One JPMorgan Chase analyst predicts strong industrial growth in coming years, and thinks that a recovery will spark demand for companies like Century, which feed industrial production. Century recently locked in a long-term power contract for its Hawesville facility. However, the company also recently sold its full stakes in its Gramercy and St. Ann Bauxite assets, in order to refocus on its core aluminum smelting franchise and growth initiatives such as its Helguvik project.

Do you think Century Aluminum deserves five-star status? Add your thoughts in the comments box below, or head over to CAPS to rate it yourself. While you're at it, see what the very best CAPS analysts are saying now about the company.