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

Key Points

• Kaiser Aluminum has been upgraded to a Buy rating by Wall Street Zen, changing from a previous "hold" rating.
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its price target for Kaiser Aluminum from $64.00 to $82.00, while maintaining a "neutral" rating.
• The company reported earnings of $1.21 per share for the last quarter, significantly surpassing the consensus estimate 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 Tuesday morning.

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Kaiser Aluminum from $64.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $78.00.

Kaiser Aluminum Price Performance

KALU stock traded down $0.91 on Tuesday, hitting $75.60. 76,568 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 89,911. 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 stock has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.43 and a beta of 1.54. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $80.80 and a 200-day moving average of $72.09. Kaiser Aluminum has a 1-year low of $46.81 and a 1-year high of $97.00.

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

Kaiser Aluminum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 25th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. 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 (DPR) is currently 79.18%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KALU. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Kaiser Aluminum by 475.0% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 414 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Kaiser Aluminum in the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of Kaiser Aluminum by 130.9% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 605 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kaiser Aluminum by 87.1% in the fourth quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 1,684 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 784 shares during the period. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new position in Kaiser Aluminum in the fourth quarter worth approximately $121,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

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.