Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Kaiser Aluminum Corporation (NASDAQ:KALU)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $183.00 and last traded at $181.83, with a volume of 22726 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $175.47.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on KALU shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $142.00 price target (up from $124.00) on shares of Kaiser Aluminum in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Kaiser Aluminum from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Kaiser Aluminum in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $176.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Kaiser Aluminum from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Kaiser Aluminum from $125.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $159.50.

Kaiser Aluminum Stock Up 5.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 2.47. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $148.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $128.37. The stock has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.10 and a beta of 1.60.

Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $3.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $1.78. The firm had revenue of $1.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $948.50 million. Kaiser Aluminum had a net margin of 4.14% and a return on equity of 17.00%. Kaiser Aluminum’s revenue was up 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Kaiser Aluminum Corporation will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Kaiser Aluminum Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 24th were issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 24th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Kaiser Aluminum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.55%.

Insider Activity at Kaiser Aluminum

In other news, CEO Keith Harvey sold 47,001 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.09, for a total transaction of $8,229,405.09. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 97,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,043,085.51. The trade was a 32.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Richard P. Grimley sold 1,524 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.52, for a total value of $261,396.48. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $785,218.56. This represents a 24.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 71,731 shares of company stock worth $12,529,097. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KALU. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kaiser Aluminum during the 4th quarter valued at $5,018,000. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in Kaiser Aluminum by 127.3% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 34,456 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,659,000 after purchasing an additional 19,294 shares in the last quarter. First National Bank of Omaha acquired a new position in Kaiser Aluminum in the 3rd quarter worth about $603,000. AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in shares of Kaiser Aluminum by 1,096.2% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 22,453 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,732,000 after purchasing an additional 20,576 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bright Futures Wealth Management LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Kaiser Aluminum during the 3rd quarter valued at about $908,000. 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.