Kaiser Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ:KALU) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Kaiser Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ:KALU) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 574,500 shares, a growth of 27.4% from the February 28th total of 450,800 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 106,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.4 days. Approximately 3.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Kaiser Aluminum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 23rd.

Kaiser Aluminum Price Performance

Shares of Kaiser Aluminum stock opened at $59.79 on Thursday. Kaiser Aluminum has a 52 week low of $57.74 and a 52 week high of $102.42. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The stock has a market cap of $962.62 million, a PE ratio of 20.83 and a beta of 1.32. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $69.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.81.

Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by ($0.30). The company had revenue of $765.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $752.00 million. Kaiser Aluminum had a net margin of 1.55% and a return on equity of 6.25%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kaiser Aluminum will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kaiser Aluminum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.15%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Kaiser Aluminum’s payout ratio is 107.32%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KALU. Wellington Management Group LLP grew 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 valued at $30,355,000 after acquiring an additional 219,827 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kaiser Aluminum during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,581,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Kaiser Aluminum during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,878,000. Crestline Management LP acquired a new position in Kaiser Aluminum in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,558,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

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.