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

Kaiser Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ:KALU) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 574,500 shares, a growth of 27.4% from the February 28th total of 450,800 shares. Approximately 3.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 106,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.4 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kaiser Aluminum

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KALU. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kaiser Aluminum during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,878,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Kaiser Aluminum by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 447,723 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,461,000 after purchasing an additional 49,948 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Kaiser Aluminum by 101.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 27,454 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,991,000 after purchasing an additional 13,813 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in Kaiser Aluminum by 196.0% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 8,934 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $629,000 after acquiring an additional 5,916 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Kaiser Aluminum by 2.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 294,502 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $21,357,000 after acquiring an additional 7,644 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kaiser Aluminum Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ KALU traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $59.79. 185,884 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 133,901. The business has a 50 day moving average of $69.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $962.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.83 and a beta of 1.32. Kaiser Aluminum has a 1 year low of $57.66 and a 1 year high of $102.42.

Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.63 by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $765.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $752.00 million. Kaiser Aluminum had a return on equity of 6.25% and a net margin of 1.55%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kaiser Aluminum will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kaiser Aluminum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.15%. Kaiser Aluminum’s dividend payout ratio is 107.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kaiser Aluminum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 23rd.

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.