What to Expect from Century Aluminum (CENX)

What to Expect from Century Aluminum

Century Aluminum (Nasdaq: CENX ) is expected to report Q4 earnings on Feb. 21. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

The 10-second takeaway
Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Century Aluminum's revenues will increase 0.0% and EPS will remain in the red.

The average estimate for revenue is $318.2 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is -$0.14.

Revenue details
Last quarter, Century Aluminum logged revenue of $304.6 million. GAAP reported sales were 12% lower than the prior-year quarter's $345.6 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
Last quarter, non-GAAP EPS came in at -$0.27. GAAP EPS were -$0.14 for Q3 versus -$0.07 per share for the prior-year quarter.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Recent performance
For the preceding quarter, gross margin was 1.1%, 220 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was -4.4%, 460 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -3.9%, 200 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead

The full year's average estimate for revenue is $1.27 billion. The average EPS estimate is -$0.62.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 436 members out of 476 rating the stock outperform, and 40 members rating it underperform. Among 128 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 119 give Century Aluminum a green thumbs-up, and nine give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Century Aluminum is hold, with an average price target of $8.13.

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Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor of Motley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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