Kaiser Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ:KALU) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Kaiser Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ:KALU) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 399,500 shares, a decline of 10.4% from the December 15th total of 446,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 137,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days. Approximately 2.5% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Kaiser Aluminum Stock Down 0.9 %

Kaiser Aluminum stock traded down $0.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $73.68. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 67,171 shares, compared to its average volume of 89,793. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.99. Kaiser Aluminum has a 12 month low of $59.52 and a 12 month 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 2.60. The company has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.49 and a beta of 1.35.

Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $748.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $793.30 million. Kaiser Aluminum had a return on equity of 6.92% and a net margin of 1.59%. The business’s revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Kaiser Aluminum will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Kaiser Aluminum Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.18%. Kaiser Aluminum’s payout ratio is 106.57%.

Institutional Trading of Kaiser Aluminum

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Kaiser Aluminum by 101.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 27,454 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,991,000 after purchasing an additional 13,813 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC increased its position in Kaiser Aluminum by 26.2% during the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 60,647 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,331,000 after buying an additional 12,584 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Kaiser Aluminum by 2.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 294,502 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $21,357,000 after buying an additional 7,644 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kaiser Aluminum by 6.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 84,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,119,000 after buying an additional 5,287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kaiser Aluminum by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 376,745 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,326,000 after acquiring an additional 4,388 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.