Kaiser Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ:KALU) Short Interest Up 27.4% in March

Kaiser Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ:KALU - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 574,500 shares, a growth of 27.4% from the February 28th total of 450,800 shares. Currently, 3.7% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 106,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.4 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kaiser Aluminum

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pitcairn Co. lifted its stake in shares of Kaiser Aluminum by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 6,118 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $430,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Kaiser Aluminum by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,094 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $639,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of Kaiser Aluminum by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 6,879 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $483,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Kaiser Aluminum by 93.0% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 851 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Kaiser Aluminum by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 9,705 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $682,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Kaiser Aluminum Trading Down 5.0 %

Shares of KALU stock traded down $2.66 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $50.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 399,456 shares, compared to its average volume of 135,284. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $817.08 million, a PE ratio of 17.68 and a beta of 1.32. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $68.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.57. Kaiser Aluminum has a 12-month low of $46.81 and a 12-month high of $102.42.

Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by ($0.30). Kaiser Aluminum had a return on equity of 6.25% and a net margin of 1.55%. The company had revenue of $765.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $752.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Kaiser Aluminum will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kaiser Aluminum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Kaiser Aluminum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 107.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com raised Kaiser Aluminum from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, March 23rd.

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