Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Kaiser Aluminum Corporation (NASDAQ:KALU)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $156.38, but opened at $163.24. Kaiser Aluminum shares last traded at $161.5420, with a volume of 28,878 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on KALU. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Kaiser Aluminum from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Zacks Research upgraded Kaiser Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group raised Kaiser Aluminum from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $179.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Kaiser Aluminum from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, August 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Kaiser Aluminum from $158.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.50.

Kaiser Aluminum Stock Up 2.9%

The firm has a market cap of $2.67 billion, a PE ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 2.50. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $168.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $158.10.

Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $5.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.66 by $2.87. The firm had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. Kaiser Aluminum had a net margin of 5.49% and a return on equity of 24.71%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 52.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Kaiser Aluminum Corporation will post 10.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kaiser Aluminum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 24th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 24th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Kaiser Aluminum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.83%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kaiser Aluminum

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Kaiser Aluminum by 18,986.0% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,937,445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $770,282,000 after acquiring an additional 3,916,815 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Kaiser Aluminum by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,117,791 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $243,249,000 after acquiring an additional 5,823 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted 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 acquiring an additional 279,231 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $95,528,000 after acquiring an additional 13,909 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in 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 valued at $38,769,000 after purchasing an additional 5,623 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.