Kaiser Aluminum Corp. (KALU) Rating Lowered to Hold at TheStreet

Kaiser Aluminum Corp. (NASDAQ:KALU) was downgraded by investment analysts at TheStreet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on last Friday.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on KALU. Zacks Investment Research downgraded Kaiser Aluminum Corp. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 18th. Bank of America Corp. cut Kaiser Aluminum Corp. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $94.00 to $92.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 20th. Seaport Global Securities began coverage on Kaiser Aluminum Corp. in a research report on Friday, September 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 target price on the stock. Macquarie began coverage on Kaiser Aluminum Corp. in a research report on Tuesday, September 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Credit Suisse Group AG set a $85.00 target price on Kaiser Aluminum Corp. and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Kaiser Aluminum Corp. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.33.

Shares of Kaiser Aluminum Corp. (NASDAQ:KALU) traded down 0.25% during trading on Friday, hitting $71.57. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $83.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.28 billion, a PE ratio of 15.96 and a beta of 0.47. Kaiser Aluminum Corp. has a 12 month low of $69.41 and a 12 month high of $96.06.

Kaiser Aluminum Corp. (NASDAQ:KALU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 19th. The company reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.25. The company earned $321 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $333.46 million. Kaiser Aluminum Corp. had a return on equity of 9.46% and a net margin of 6.12%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.07 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Kaiser Aluminum Corp. will post $5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 25th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 21st. Kaiser Aluminum Corp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.72%.

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA boosted its position in shares of Kaiser Aluminum Corp. by 115.5% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 6,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $605,000 after buying an additional 3,588 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Kaiser Aluminum Corp. by 23.9% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 618,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,262,000 after buying an additional 119,108 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Kaiser Aluminum Corp. by 13.2% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 392,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,216,000 after buying an additional 45,700 shares during the period. Aberdeen Asset Management PLC UK boosted its position in shares of Kaiser Aluminum Corp. by 68.6% in the second quarter. Aberdeen Asset Management PLC UK now owns 281,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,446,000 after buying an additional 114,563 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Institutional Trust Company N.A. boosted its position in shares of Kaiser Aluminum Corp. by 14.2% in the first quarter. BlackRock Institutional Trust Company N.A. now owns 529,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,737,000 after buying an additional 65,729 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.64% of the company’s stock.

About Kaiser Aluminum Corp.

Kaiser Aluminum Corporation is engaged in the production of semi-fabricated specialty aluminum products. The Company manufactures aluminum plate and sheet, and extruded and drawn products, primarily used in aerospace/high strength, automotive, general engineering and other industrial end market applications.