Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 22% in the last month. But that cannot eclipse the less-than-impressive returns over the last three years. In fact, the share price is down 29% in the last three years, falling well short of the market return.

The recent uptick of 8.0% could be a positive sign of things to come, so let's take a look at historical fundamentals.

Check out our latest analysis for Century Aluminum

Given that Century Aluminum didn't make a profit in the last twelve months, we'll focus on revenue growth to form a quick view of its business development. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally expect to see good revenue growth. That's because fast revenue growth can be easily extrapolated to forecast profits, often of considerable size.

Over three years, Century Aluminum grew revenue at 16% per year. That's a fairly respectable growth rate. Shareholders have seen the share price fall at 9% per year, for three years. So the market has definitely lost some love for the stock. With revenue growing at a solid clip, now might be the time to focus on the possibility that it will have a brighter future.

You can see how earnings and revenue have changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

We like that insiders have been buying shares in the last twelve months. Even so, future earnings will be far more important to whether current shareholders make money. So we recommend checking out this free report showing consensus forecasts

A Different Perspective

Century Aluminum provided a TSR of 2.6% over the last twelve months. But that was short of the market average. On the bright side, that's still a gain, and it's actually better than the average return of 0.2% over half a decade This suggests the company might be improving over time. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with Century Aluminum , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

Century Aluminum is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on American exchanges.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.