Kaiser Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ:KALU) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Kaiser Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ:KALU) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 412,400 shares, a decrease of 14.6% from the August 15th total of 482,800 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 138,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days. Approximately 2.6% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of Kaiser Aluminum from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th.

Kaiser Aluminum Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KALU traded up $0.65 on Wednesday, hitting $70.18. 180,440 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 141,749. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.45 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. Kaiser Aluminum has a 1-year low of $53.67 and a 1-year high of $102.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $76.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.10.

Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by ($0.29). The firm had revenue of $773.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $773.89 million. Kaiser Aluminum had a return on equity of 6.84% and a net margin of 1.37%. The business’s revenue was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.26 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Kaiser Aluminum will post 3.04 EPS for the current year.

Kaiser Aluminum Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 25th were given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 25th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.39%. Kaiser Aluminum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Keith Harvey acquired 2,588 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $77.23 per share, with a total value of $199,871.24. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 103,550 shares in the company, valued at $7,997,166.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kaiser Aluminum

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new stake in Kaiser Aluminum during the second quarter worth about $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Kaiser Aluminum by 400.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 540 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kaiser Aluminum in the second quarter worth about $63,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kaiser Aluminum by 79.7% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 861 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kaiser Aluminum by 941.4% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 906 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 819 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

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.