Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Sunday morning.

Kaiser Aluminum Stock Down 1.3 %

KALU stock opened at $66.54 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a PE ratio of 23.18 and a beta of 1.37. Kaiser Aluminum has a 12 month low of $63.44 and a 12 month high of $102.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.09.

Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 1.55% and a return on equity of 6.25%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Kaiser Aluminum will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kaiser Aluminum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.63%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Kaiser Aluminum’s payout ratio is 107.32%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kaiser Aluminum

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Kaiser Aluminum by 103.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 431,980 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,355,000 after purchasing an additional 219,827 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Kaiser Aluminum during the fourth quarter valued at $4,581,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Kaiser Aluminum in the 4th quarter worth about $3,878,000. Crestline Management LP acquired a new stake in Kaiser Aluminum during the 4th quarter worth about $3,558,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Kaiser Aluminum by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 447,723 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,461,000 after acquiring an additional 49,948 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

About Kaiser Aluminum

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.