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

Kaiser Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ:KALU - Get Free Report) saw a large decrease in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 341,900 shares, a decrease of 36.1% from the March 31st total of 535,000 shares. Currently, 2.2% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 152,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Kaiser Aluminum Stock Up 3.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ KALU traded up $2.56 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $69.16. 219,762 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 138,832. The company has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a PE ratio of 24.10 and a beta of 1.40. Kaiser Aluminum has a 12 month low of $46.81 and a 12 month high of $102.42. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $62.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.38.

Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.91. Kaiser Aluminum had a return on equity of 6.25% and a net margin of 1.55%. The firm had revenue of $777.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $788.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.02 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Kaiser Aluminum will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Kaiser Aluminum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.45%. Kaiser Aluminum's payout ratio is 115.36%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kaiser Aluminum

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in Kaiser Aluminum by 497.2% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 651 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new position in shares of Kaiser Aluminum in the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Kaiser Aluminum by 93.0% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 851 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Kaiser Aluminum by 87.1% during the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 1,684 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $118,000 after acquiring an additional 784 shares during the period. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new stake in Kaiser Aluminum during the 4th quarter valued at about $121,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Kaiser Aluminum from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Benchmark dropped their target price on Kaiser Aluminum from $100.00 to $74.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. StockNews.com raised Kaiser Aluminum from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 18th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Kaiser Aluminum from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th.

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.