Wall Street Zen Upgrades Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) to Buy

Key Points

• Kaiser Aluminum has been upgraded from a "hold" to a "buy" rating by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen.
• Benchmark reduced its price target for Kaiser Aluminum from $100 to $74, while JPMorgan Chase raised it from $64 to $82.
• The company reported earnings of $1.21 per share for the last quarter, significantly exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.49.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Sunday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on KALU. Benchmark reduced their price target on Kaiser Aluminum from $100.00 to $74.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Kaiser Aluminum from $64.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $78.00.

Kaiser Aluminum Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of KALU traded up $1.18 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $75.78. 93,249 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 128,394. Kaiser Aluminum has a 12-month low of $46.81 and a 12-month high of $97.00. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.68. 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 company has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.48 and a beta of 1.51.

Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.72. Kaiser Aluminum had a return on equity of 8.03% and a net margin of 2.05%.The company had revenue of $823.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $786.70 million. Research analysts forecast that Kaiser Aluminum will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Kaiser Aluminum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 25th were issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 25th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. Kaiser Aluminum's dividend payout ratio is 79.18%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kaiser Aluminum

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kaiser Aluminum in the 1st quarter worth approximately $674,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Kaiser Aluminum in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,598,000. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in shares of Kaiser Aluminum by 54.0% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 14,191 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $997,000 after buying an additional 4,977 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kaiser Aluminum in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,245,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Kaiser Aluminum by 103.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 431,980 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $30,355,000 after buying an additional 219,827 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.