Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) Stock Price Up 5.8% – Still a Buy?

Kaiser Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ:KALU) was up 5.8% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $77.11 and last traded at $75.52. Approximately 101,592 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 10% from the average daily volume of 92,594 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.36.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Kaiser Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday.

Kaiser Aluminum Stock Down 4.0 %

The company has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.04 and a beta of 1.34. The business has a fifty day moving average of $71.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56.

Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by ($0.30). The business had revenue of $765.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $752.00 million. Kaiser Aluminum had a net margin of 1.55% and a return on equity of 6.25%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Kaiser Aluminum Co. will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kaiser Aluminum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.29%. Kaiser Aluminum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 107.32%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kaiser Aluminum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,878,000. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Kaiser Aluminum by 101.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 27,454 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,991,000 after purchasing an additional 13,813 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Kaiser Aluminum by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 294,502 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $21,357,000 after purchasing an additional 7,644 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kaiser Aluminum by 6.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 84,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,119,000 after buying an additional 5,287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leisure Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Kaiser Aluminum in the fourth quarter valued at about $697,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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. It offers rolled, extruded, and drawn aluminum products used for aerospace and defense, aluminum beverage and food packaging, automotive and general engineering products.