Kaiser Aluminum Corporation $KALU Stake Lifted by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group slightly increased its Kaiser Aluminum stake in the fourth quarter, and now owns 2,117,791 shares valued at about $243.2 million, or 13.06% of the company.
• Kaiser Aluminum reported a strong quarter, with EPS of $3.74 versus expectations of $1.96 and revenue of $1.11 billion, topping estimates and rising 42.4% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share, while several insiders, including the CEO and a director, sold shares in recent weeks.

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Kaiser Aluminum Corporation (NASDAQ:KALU - Free Report) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,117,791 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,823 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 13.06% of Kaiser Aluminum worth $243,249,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of KALU. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Kaiser Aluminum by 31.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,154,415 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $92,238,000 after buying an additional 279,231 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Kaiser Aluminum during the third quarter valued at about $13,111,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Kaiser Aluminum by 211.2% during the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 82,553 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $6,596,000 after buying an additional 56,028 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Kaiser Aluminum by 9.8% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 588,720 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $45,426,000 after buying an additional 52,512 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Kaiser Aluminum by 192.3% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 70,336 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,427,000 after buying an additional 46,269 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on Kaiser Aluminum in a research note on Tuesday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $176.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp raised their target price on Kaiser Aluminum from $170.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings raised Kaiser Aluminum from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research downgraded Kaiser Aluminum from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an "underweight" rating and set a $142.00 price objective (up from $124.00) on shares of Kaiser Aluminum in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $159.50.

Kaiser Aluminum Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of NASDAQ KALU opened at $180.33 on Friday. Kaiser Aluminum Corporation has a one year low of $66.59 and a one year high of $183.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of 19.64 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $137.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $121.24.

Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $3.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.96 by $1.78. Kaiser Aluminum had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 4.14%.The firm had revenue of $1.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $948.50 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Kaiser Aluminum Corporation will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kaiser Aluminum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 24th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 24th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Kaiser Aluminum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.55%.

Insider Activity

In other Kaiser Aluminum news, CEO Keith Harvey sold 3,031 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.13, for a total transaction of $524,757.03. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 94,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,327,544.04. This trade represents a 3.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Brett Wilcox sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.44, for a total value of $2,616,600.00. Following the sale, the director owned 9,887 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,724,688.28. The trade was a 60.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 76,731 shares of company stock worth $13,137,697. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Kaiser Aluminum Profile

Kaiser Aluminum Corporation is a U.S.-based producer of semi‐fabricated aluminum products, serving a diverse range of industrial and specialty markets. The company's offerings include extruded, rolled, and forged aluminum products designed to meet stringent performance requirements in sectors such as aerospace, automotive, defense, electronics, and general engineering. By focusing on high‐value applications, Kaiser Aluminum aims to deliver lightweight, durable solutions that contribute to efficiency and innovation across its customer base.

Operationally, Kaiser Aluminum maintains a network of smelters, extrusion plants, and rolling mills located primarily in North America.

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