Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on KALU. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Kaiser Aluminum from $170.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Kaiser Aluminum from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen raised Kaiser Aluminum from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Kaiser Aluminum in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $176.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Kaiser Aluminum from $125.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kaiser Aluminum currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $159.50.

Kaiser Aluminum Stock Up 4.5%

Kaiser Aluminum stock opened at $195.63 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.31 and a beta of 1.60. Kaiser Aluminum has a 1-year low of $71.44 and a 1-year high of $195.96. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $177.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $144.41.

Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $3.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $1.78. The company had revenue of $1.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $948.50 million. Kaiser Aluminum had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 4.14%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Kaiser Aluminum will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Kaiser Aluminum news, Director Richard P. Grimley sold 1,524 shares of Kaiser Aluminum stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.52, for a total transaction of $261,396.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $785,218.56. This trade represents a 24.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Brett Wilcox sold 15,000 shares of Kaiser Aluminum stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.44, for a total value of $2,616,600.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 9,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,724,688.28. The trade was a 60.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 71,731 shares of company stock valued at $12,529,097 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kaiser Aluminum

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Kaiser Aluminum by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,117,791 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $243,249,000 after buying an additional 5,823 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Kaiser Aluminum by 31.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,154,415 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $92,238,000 after buying an additional 279,231 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Kaiser Aluminum by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 831,652 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $95,528,000 after acquiring an additional 13,909 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kaiser Aluminum by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 588,720 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,426,000 after acquiring an additional 52,512 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Kaiser Aluminum by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 502,446 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,769,000 after acquiring an additional 5,623 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 is a U.S.-based producer of semi‐fabricated aluminum products, serving a diverse range of industrial and specialty markets. The company’s offerings include extruded, rolled, and forged aluminum products designed to meet stringent performance requirements in sectors such as aerospace, automotive, defense, electronics, and general engineering. By focusing on high‐value applications, Kaiser Aluminum aims to deliver lightweight, durable solutions that contribute to efficiency and innovation across its customer base.

Operationally, Kaiser Aluminum maintains a network of smelters, extrusion plants, and rolling mills located primarily in North America.