Kaiser Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ:KALU) Short Interest Update

Kaiser Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ:KALU) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of 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 daily trading volume, of 106,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.4 days. Approximately 3.7% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Kaiser Aluminum Trading Down 2.4 %

NASDAQ KALU opened at $60.62 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $69.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.97. Kaiser Aluminum has a one year low of $58.84 and a one year high of $102.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 2.44. The firm has a market cap of $975.98 million, a PE ratio of 21.12 and a beta of 1.37.

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

Kaiser Aluminum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Kaiser Aluminum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 107.32%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kaiser Aluminum

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pitcairn Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Kaiser Aluminum by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 6,118 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $430,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Kaiser Aluminum by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,094 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $639,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Kaiser Aluminum by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 6,879 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $483,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in Kaiser Aluminum by 93.0% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 851 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Kaiser Aluminum by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 9,705 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $682,000 after buying an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.