Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) Trading Up 8.9% – Should You Buy?

Kaiser Aluminum Corporation (NASDAQ:KALU)’s share price traded up 8.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $131.00 and last traded at $131.2830. 278,056 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 25% from the average session volume of 221,844 shares. The stock had previously closed at $120.51.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KALU. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Kaiser Aluminum from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Zacks Research raised shares of Kaiser Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Kaiser Aluminum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Kaiser Aluminum from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Kaiser Aluminum from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.67.

Kaiser Aluminum Stock Up 8.7%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 2.95 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $2.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.36 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $127.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.94.

Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $929.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $902.00 million. Kaiser Aluminum had a return on equity of 12.69% and a net margin of 3.34%.Kaiser Aluminum’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Kaiser Aluminum Corporation will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kaiser Aluminum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 23rd were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 23rd. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Kaiser Aluminum’s payout ratio is currently 45.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kaiser Aluminum

In related news, CFO Neal E. West sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.72, for a total transaction of $608,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 12,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,554,973. The trade was a 28.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kaiser Aluminum

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Kaiser Aluminum by 212.6% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,815 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 3,955 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in Kaiser Aluminum in the first quarter valued at about $247,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Kaiser Aluminum by 4.4% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,491 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $575,000 after buying an additional 397 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Kaiser Aluminum by 2.7% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 41,971 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,544,000 after buying an additional 1,084 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in Kaiser Aluminum by 323.6% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 55,190 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,346,000 after buying an additional 42,160 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

About Kaiser Aluminum

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.