StockNews.com Downgrades Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) to Sell

StockNews.com lowered shares of Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Saturday morning.

Kaiser Aluminum Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KALU opened at $70.33 on Friday. Kaiser Aluminum has a fifty-two week low of $63.44 and a fifty-two week high of $102.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $70.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.24. The stock has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a PE ratio of 24.51 and a beta of 1.37.

Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.63 by ($0.30). Kaiser Aluminum had a return on equity of 6.25% and a net margin of 1.55%. The business had revenue of $765.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $752.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Kaiser Aluminum will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kaiser Aluminum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.38%. Kaiser Aluminum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 107.32%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kaiser Aluminum

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KALU. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Kaiser Aluminum by 103.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 219,827 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Kaiser Aluminum in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,581,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Kaiser Aluminum in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,878,000. Crestline Management LP purchased a new position in Kaiser Aluminum in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,558,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 49,948 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.