JPMorgan Chase & Co. Upgrades Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) to Neutral

Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) was upgraded by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $140.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 30.50% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also commented on KALU. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Kaiser Aluminum from $160.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. UBS Group raised shares of Kaiser Aluminum from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $179.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Kaiser Aluminum in a research report on Monday. KeyCorp reduced their price target on Kaiser Aluminum from $183.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Kaiser Aluminum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $157.00.

Kaiser Aluminum Price Performance

Shares of Kaiser Aluminum stock opened at $107.28 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 2.63 and a quick ratio of 1.25. Kaiser Aluminum has a one year low of $87.89 and a one year high of $199.89. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $153.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $165.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.28 and a beta of 1.59.

Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The industrial products company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.37 by ($0.48). The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.21 billion. Kaiser Aluminum had a net margin of 4.85% and a return on equity of 23.65%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 43.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.86 EPS. Analysts forecast that Kaiser Aluminum will post 13.40 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kaiser Aluminum

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KALU. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of Kaiser Aluminum by 228.0% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 269 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kaiser Aluminum during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $825,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Kaiser Aluminum by 841.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 488 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in Kaiser Aluminum by 27.4% in the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 16,857 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,441,000 after buying an additional 3,628 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Range Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Kaiser Aluminum by 8.0% during the third quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 9,060 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,312,000 after buying an additional 674 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

About Kaiser Aluminum

Kaiser Aluminum Corporation is a producer of semi-fabricated aluminum products used by manufacturers in the aerospace and defense, automotive, industrial, and consumer products markets. The company supplies aluminum materials designed for applications that require strength, light weight, corrosion resistance, and other specialized performance characteristics.

Its product portfolio includes rolled aluminum sheet and plate, extruded products, forged components, and other fabricated aluminum products.