Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) Hits New 12-Month High on Strong Earnings

Kaiser Aluminum Corporation (NASDAQ:KALU) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $97.00 and last traded at $89.03, with a volume of 91403 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $92.64.

The industrial products company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.72. Kaiser Aluminum had a net margin of 2.05% and a return on equity of 8.26%. The firm had revenue of $823.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $786.70 million.

Kaiser Aluminum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, July 25th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 25th. Kaiser Aluminum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 115.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KALU has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kaiser Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Kaiser Aluminum from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Kaiser Aluminum from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Benchmark cut their price objective on shares of Kaiser Aluminum from $100.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of KALU. Aquatic Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Kaiser Aluminum by 87.1% in the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 1,684 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 784 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new position in Kaiser Aluminum in the 4th quarter valued at $121,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in Kaiser Aluminum by 325.0% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,768 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 1,352 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in Kaiser Aluminum by 385.7% in the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 3,162 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $192,000 after purchasing an additional 2,511 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Kaiser Aluminum by 128.5% in the 1st quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 3,338 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $202,000 after purchasing an additional 1,877 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kaiser Aluminum Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $79.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.10. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.65 and a beta of 1.44.

About Kaiser Aluminum

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.