Kaiser Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ:KALU) Short Interest Update

Kaiser Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ:KALU) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 398,800 shares, an increase of 5.2% from the October 15th total of 379,200 shares. Currently, 2.5% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 84,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.7 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kaiser Aluminum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kaiser Aluminum presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $72.75.

Kaiser Aluminum Trading Up 2.5 %

KALU stock traded up $1.47 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $60.69. The company had a trading volume of 72,554 shares, compared to its average volume of 112,144. The stock has a market cap of $971.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.11 and a beta of 1.34. Kaiser Aluminum has a 52 week low of $53.67 and a 52 week high of $94.55. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $66.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.69.

Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.04). Kaiser Aluminum had a net margin of 0.43% and a return on equity of 2.77%. The firm had revenue of $744.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $788.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.16 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Kaiser Aluminum will post 1.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kaiser Aluminum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 25th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 24th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.07%. Kaiser Aluminum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 380.25%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Icon Advisers Inc. Co. purchased a new position in shares of Kaiser Aluminum during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,013,000. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Kaiser Aluminum by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC now owns 30,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,076,000 after purchasing an additional 15,000 shares in the last quarter. Roubaix Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kaiser Aluminum in the 1st quarter worth about $2,751,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Kaiser Aluminum by 15.9% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 249,460 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,617,000 after purchasing an additional 34,256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ibex Investors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kaiser Aluminum during the first quarter valued at about $537,000.

Kaiser Aluminum Company Profile

Kaiser Aluminum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in manufacture and sale of semi-fabricated specialty aluminum mill products in the United States and internationally. The company offers rolled, extruded, and drawn aluminum products used for aerospace and defense, aluminum beverage and food packaging, automotive and general engineering products.