Short Interest in Kaiser Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ:KALU) Grows By 10.3%

Kaiser Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ:KALU – Get Rating) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 384,100 shares, a growth of 10.3% from the January 31st total of 348,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 129,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days. Approximately 2.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Neal E. West sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.47, for a total transaction of $33,788.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,992.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kaiser Aluminum

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kaiser Aluminum by 0.8% in the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 14,503 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,366,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can increased its holdings in Kaiser Aluminum by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 14,136 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,363,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Kaiser Aluminum by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 4,498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in Kaiser Aluminum by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 1,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. Finally, Brinker Capital Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Kaiser Aluminum by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Brinker Capital Investments LLC now owns 8,829 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $671,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on KALU. StockNews.com downgraded Kaiser Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 23rd. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Kaiser Aluminum in a report on Thursday, December 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Kaiser Aluminum from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 27th.

Kaiser Aluminum Stock Up 1.7 %

Kaiser Aluminum stock opened at $84.33 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $79.94. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. Kaiser Aluminum has a 1-year low of $59.24 and a 1-year high of $107.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -45.34 and a beta of 1.29.

Kaiser Aluminum Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 25th were given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 24th. Kaiser Aluminum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -165.59%.

Kaiser Aluminum Company Profile

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Kaiser Aluminum Corp. engages in the manufacture and sale of semi-fabricated specialty aluminum products. The firm caters to the aerospace, general engineering, automotive, and custom industrial applications industries. Its products include plate, sheet, coil, hard alloy shapes, soft alloy extrusions, seamless and structural extruded, drawn tube, hard alloy rod, bar, wire and forge stock.