Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) Sees Large Volume Increase on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Kaiser Aluminum shares experienced a 276% increase in trading volume after Wells Fargo raised their price target from $90.00 to $108.00, maintaining an overweight rating.
• Institutional investors currently hold 99.29% of Kaiser Aluminum's stock, with notable acquisitions totaling approximately $5 million in recent first-quarter investments.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.77 to be paid on November 14th, reflecting an annual yield of 3.2%.

Kaiser Aluminum Corporation (NASDAQ:KALU - Get Free Report) shares saw strong trading volume on Friday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $90.00 to $108.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. 502,898 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 276% from the previous session's volume of 133,704 shares.The stock last traded at $95.77 and had previously closed at $93.12.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Kaiser Aluminum from $64.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Kaiser Aluminum from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Kaiser Aluminum in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kaiser Aluminum from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kaiser Aluminum currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $88.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KALU. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in Kaiser Aluminum during the 1st quarter worth approximately $674,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Kaiser Aluminum in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,598,000. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Kaiser Aluminum by 40.5% in the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 18,628 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,129,000 after buying an additional 5,372 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Kaiser Aluminum in the first quarter valued at approximately $430,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Kaiser Aluminum in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,622,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Kaiser Aluminum Price Performance

The company's fifty day moving average is $77.65 and its 200 day moving average is $74.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 2.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market cap of $1.55 billion, a PE ratio of 17.30 and a beta of 1.49.

Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 2nd. The industrial products company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter. Kaiser Aluminum had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 10.93%. The firm had revenue of $765.40 million for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kaiser Aluminum Corporation will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kaiser Aluminum Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 24th will be given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 24th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Kaiser Aluminum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.18%.

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.

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