ProShare Advisors LLC Purchases 9,100 Shares of Kaiser Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ:KALU)

ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Kaiser Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ:KALU) by 8.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 113,103 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,100 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned about 0.71% of Kaiser Aluminum worth $8,441,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Kaiser Aluminum by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 14,503 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can grew its position in Kaiser Aluminum by 1.2% during the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 14,136 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,363,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in Kaiser Aluminum by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 4,498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $342,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Kaiser Aluminum by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Ray Parkinson sold 4,727 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.75, for a total value of $376,978.25. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,432 shares in the company, valued at $512,952. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Kaiser Aluminum Stock Up 2.9 %

KALU opened at $78.09 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 123.95 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 2.81. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.67. Kaiser Aluminum Co. has a twelve month low of $56.79 and a twelve month high of $97.58.

Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 26th. The industrial products company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.80. Kaiser Aluminum had a net margin of 0.34% and a return on equity of 1.99%. The firm had revenue of $814.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $797.21 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.87) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Kaiser Aluminum Co. will post 2.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kaiser Aluminum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 25th were given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 24th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.94%. Kaiser Aluminum’s payout ratio is 488.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on KALU. 22nd Century Group reaffirmed a “reiterates” rating on shares of Kaiser Aluminum in a research report on Thursday, June 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kaiser Aluminum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Kaiser Aluminum from $69.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Friday, July 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kaiser Aluminum has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $72.75.

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. The company offers rolled, extruded, and drawn aluminum products used for aerospace and defense, aluminum beverage and food packaging, automotive and general engineering products.