Short Interest in Kaiser Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ:KALU) Expands By 22.8%

Kaiser Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ:KALU) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 654,400 shares, an increase of 22.8% from the June 15th total of 533,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 151,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.3 days. Approximately 4.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Kaiser Aluminum Stock Performance

Shares of KALU traded up $3.97 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $99.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 140,466 shares, compared to its average volume of 143,640. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $93.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a PE ratio of 27.73 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 2.66. Kaiser Aluminum has a one year low of $53.67 and a one year high of $102.42.

Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.44. The firm had revenue of $738.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $733.34 million. Kaiser Aluminum had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 8.40%. The business’s revenue was down 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kaiser Aluminum will post 4.12 EPS for the current year.

Kaiser Aluminum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 25th will be given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. Kaiser Aluminum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.53%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kaiser Aluminum

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kaiser Aluminum by 400.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 540 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kaiser Aluminum during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Kaiser Aluminum by 79.7% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 861 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Kaiser Aluminum by 941.4% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 906 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kaiser Aluminum in the 1st quarter worth approximately $132,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on KALU shares. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of Kaiser Aluminum from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Kaiser Aluminum from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th.

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.