Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) Reaches New 52-Week High After Earnings Beat

Kaiser Aluminum Corporation (NASDAQ:KALU - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $97.00 and last traded at $89.03, with a volume of 91403 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $92.64.

The industrial products company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.72. The business had revenue of $823.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $786.70 million. Kaiser Aluminum had a return on equity of 8.03% and a net margin of 2.05%.

Kaiser Aluminum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 25th. Kaiser Aluminum's payout ratio is presently 79.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research upgraded Kaiser Aluminum from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Benchmark decreased their target price on Kaiser Aluminum from $100.00 to $74.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Kaiser Aluminum from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Kaiser Aluminum from $64.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KALU. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $30,355,000 after acquiring an additional 219,827 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kaiser Aluminum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,581,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kaiser Aluminum by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 499,314 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $30,268,000 after acquiring an additional 51,591 shares during the period. Crestline Management LP bought a new position in shares of Kaiser Aluminum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,558,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Kaiser Aluminum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,312,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kaiser Aluminum Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.70, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $80.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.20. The company has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.15 and a beta of 1.44.

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.