Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) Upgraded to Equal Weight at Wells Fargo & Company

Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) was upgraded by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $160.00 target price on the industrial products company’s stock, down from their previous target price of $169.00. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 3.17% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on KALU. Weiss Ratings downgraded Kaiser Aluminum from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded Kaiser Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Kaiser Aluminum from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $179.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kaiser Aluminum from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kaiser Aluminum currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $167.25.

Kaiser Aluminum Price Performance

KALU opened at $155.08 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $164.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $160.25. Kaiser Aluminum has a 1 year low of $73.08 and a 1 year high of $199.89. The stock has a market cap of $2.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.50 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $5.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.66 by $2.87. Kaiser Aluminum had a net margin of 5.49% and a return on equity of 24.71%. The business had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. Kaiser Aluminum’s revenue for the quarter was up 52.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Kaiser Aluminum will post 10.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kaiser Aluminum

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kaiser Aluminum in the second quarter worth $1,355,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its position in Kaiser Aluminum by 33.5% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 10,333 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,021,000 after buying an additional 2,593 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Kaiser Aluminum by 146.6% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 143 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Nykredit A S acquired a new position in shares of Kaiser Aluminum during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in shares of Kaiser Aluminum in the 2nd quarter valued at about $665,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kaiser Aluminum Company Profile

Kaiser Aluminum Corporation is a manufacturer of semi-fabricated aluminum products. The company produces flat-rolled, extruded and forged aluminum products used by manufacturers in the aerospace, automotive, packaging, industrial and other specialized markets.

Its product portfolio includes aerospace plate and sheet, automotive body sheet, extruded shapes, rod and bar, forged components, and other customized aluminum products. Kaiser Aluminum serves original equipment manufacturers and suppliers that use aluminum for its light weight, strength, durability and recyclability.

The company traces its history to 1946 and operates manufacturing facilities in the United States.