Head to Head Review: Kaiser Aluminum (KALU) vs. Its Competitors

Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) is one of 1,984 public companies in the “Metals & Mining” industry, but how does it compare to its peers? We will compare Kaiser Aluminum to similar companies based on the strength of its institutional ownership, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Kaiser Aluminum and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Kaiser Aluminum	4.85%	23.65%	7.66%
Kaiser Aluminum Competitors	-1,161,736,352,322,426,400.00%	-52.87%	-2.06%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Kaiser Aluminum and its peers, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Kaiser Aluminum	0	3	4	0	2.57
Kaiser Aluminum Competitors	6414	22620	32328	1801	2.47

Kaiser Aluminum presently has a consensus target price of $141.00, suggesting a potential upside of 26.30%. As a group, “Metals & Mining” companies have a potential upside of 25.33%. Given Kaiser Aluminum’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Kaiser Aluminum is more favorable than its peers.

Volatility and Risk

Kaiser Aluminum has a beta of 1.72, indicating that its stock price is 72% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kaiser Aluminum’s peers have a beta of 0.96, indicating that their average stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Kaiser Aluminum and its peers revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Kaiser Aluminum	$3.37 billion	$112.50 million	8.62
Kaiser Aluminum Competitors	$4.78 billion	$278.94 million	-26.17

Kaiser Aluminum’s peers have higher revenue and earnings than Kaiser Aluminum. Kaiser Aluminum is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

99.3% of Kaiser Aluminum shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 15.9% of shares of all “Metals & Mining” companies are owned by institutional investors. 1.3% of Kaiser Aluminum shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 17.6% of shares of all “Metals & Mining” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Kaiser Aluminum pays an annual dividend of $3.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Kaiser Aluminum pays out 23.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Metals & Mining” companies pay a dividend yield of 10.1% and pay out 10.8% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Kaiser Aluminum lags its peers as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.

Summary

Kaiser Aluminum beats its peers on 9 of the 15 factors compared.

About Kaiser Aluminum

Kaiser Aluminum is a producer of semi-fabricated aluminum products, including plate, sheet, coil and extrusions. The company focuses on products that require specialized alloys and manufacturing capabilities. Its products serve customers in markets such as aerospace, automotive, packaging, general engineering, building and construction, and consumer goods. Kaiser Aluminum operates manufacturing facilities in North America and serves customers across a range of industries and geographies. The company traces its origins to aluminum operations established by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser during World War II and was founded in 1946.