Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) Rating Lowered to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Saturday.

Kaiser Aluminum Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KALU opened at $70.40 on Friday. Kaiser Aluminum has a 52 week low of $63.44 and a 52 week high of $102.42. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The company has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.53 and a beta of 1.37.

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

Kaiser Aluminum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.38%. Kaiser Aluminum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 107.32%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kaiser Aluminum

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kaiser Aluminum during the 4th quarter worth $3,878,000. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Kaiser Aluminum by 101.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 27,454 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,991,000 after buying an additional 13,813 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 7,644 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kaiser Aluminum by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 84,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,119,000 after acquiring an additional 5,287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leisure Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Kaiser Aluminum in the 4th 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.