Why Century Aluminum Co.'s Shares Popped 25% Today

By Travis Hoium – Feb 19, 2016 at 12:54PM

NASDAQ: CENX

Century Aluminum

Market Cap

$2B

Today's Change

(-0.14%) -$0.03

Current Price

$17.36

Price as of April 25, 2024, 1:01 p.m. ET

A small earnings beat had investors excited about Century Aluminum Co. today.

What: Shares of Century Aluminum Co. (CENX -0.14%) jumped 25% today after reporting fourth-quarter 2015 results.

So what: Revenue dropped 30% to $383.9 million and the company swung from a $75.8 million profit to a $43.1 million loss, or $0.50 per share. Adjusted net loss, which pulls out one-time items, was a bit worse at $0.53 per share, but came in a penny ahead of estimates. That's what had investors so excited today.

Now what: Despite the decline in results, investors are betting that we're seeing a bottom in the metals market. Management at Century Aluminum and its competitors continue to push for sanctions on what they feel is Chinese dumping of aluminum products.

Betting on a recovery is risky given the large losses being reported. I'd like to see a financial turnaround before jumping in because we really don't know how bad the metals market will get.

Travis Hoium has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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.