Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) Cut to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Zacks Research downgraded Kaiser Aluminum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Kaiser Aluminum from $170.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $142.00 target price (up from $124.00) on shares of Kaiser Aluminum in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Kaiser Aluminum from $158.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Kaiser Aluminum in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $168.25.

Kaiser Aluminum Stock Down 0.8%

NASDAQ:KALU opened at $161.89 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.00 and a beta of 1.59. Kaiser Aluminum has a 1-year low of $71.44 and a 1-year high of $195.96. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $175.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $151.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $5.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.66 by $2.87. The firm had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.12 billion. Kaiser Aluminum had a net margin of 5.49% and a return on equity of 24.71%. The firm’s revenue was up 52.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.21 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Kaiser Aluminum will post 9.11 EPS for the current year.

Kaiser Aluminum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 24th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 24th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Kaiser Aluminum’s payout ratio is currently 22.83%.

Insider Activity at Kaiser Aluminum

In related news, Director Richard P. Grimley sold 1,524 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director directly owned 4,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $785,218.56. The trade was a 24.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Keith Harvey sold 3,031 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.13, for a total transaction of $524,757.03. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 94,308 shares in the company, valued at $16,327,544.04. The trade was a 3.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Kaiser Aluminum in the second quarter valued at approximately $10,659,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Kaiser Aluminum by 25.5% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 897 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $175,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kaiser Aluminum in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Pacific Excel Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kaiser Aluminum during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $207,000. Finally, PVG Asset Management Corp increased its holdings in shares of Kaiser Aluminum by 331.9% during the 1st quarter. PVG Asset Management Corp now owns 8,374 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,009,000 after buying an additional 6,435 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.