Kaiser Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ:KALU) Short Interest Down 36.1% in April

Kaiser Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ:KALU) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 341,900 shares, a decline of 36.1% from the March 31st total of 535,000 shares. Approximately 2.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 152,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Kaiser Aluminum Stock Up 6.1 %

KALU stock opened at $64.38 on Tuesday. Kaiser Aluminum has a one year low of $46.81 and a one year high of $102.42. The firm has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 22.43 and a beta of 1.32. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $62.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 2.44.

Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.91. The company had revenue of $777.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $788.00 million. Kaiser Aluminum had a return on equity of 6.25% and a net margin of 1.55%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.02 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Kaiser Aluminum will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Kaiser Aluminum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. Kaiser Aluminum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 115.36%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kaiser Aluminum

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in KALU. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Kaiser Aluminum by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 790,046 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,517,000 after purchasing an additional 14,296 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $31,461,000 after buying an additional 49,948 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Kaiser Aluminum by 103.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 431,980 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,355,000 after acquiring an additional 219,827 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Kaiser Aluminum by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 298,318 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $20,963,000 after acquiring an additional 3,816 shares during the period. Finally, Tributary Capital Management LLC grew its position in Kaiser Aluminum by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 269,315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,925,000 after acquiring an additional 22,839 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on KALU shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kaiser Aluminum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 18th. Wolfe Research upgraded Kaiser Aluminum from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Benchmark lowered their price objective on Kaiser Aluminum from $100.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Kaiser Aluminum from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday.

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.