Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Alcoa (NYSE:AA) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Thursday morning.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Alcoa from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Alcoa from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wolfe Research raised Alcoa from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Alcoa from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, B. Riley Financial restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $41.00 target price on shares of Alcoa in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alcoa has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.36.

Alcoa Stock Performance

Shares of Alcoa stock opened at $40.33 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.74. Alcoa has a 12 month low of $23.07 and a 12 month high of $45.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.73 and a beta of 2.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The industrial products company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.34. Alcoa had a negative net margin of 5.14% and a negative return on equity of 7.29%. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($1.14) earnings per share. Alcoa’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Alcoa will post 0.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Alcoa Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 29th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. Alcoa’s payout ratio is currently -10.64%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alcoa

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AA. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Alcoa by 15.1% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Alcoa by 1.4% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 26,965 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,073,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co grew its holdings in Alcoa by 5.7% in the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 7,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Alcoa by 19.5% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,651 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $145,000 after buying an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Alcoa by 481.7% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 762 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 631 shares during the last quarter. 82.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alcoa Company Profile

Alcoa Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells bauxite, alumina, and aluminum products in the United States, Spain, Australia, Iceland, Norway, Brazil, Canada, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Alumina and Aluminum. It engages in bauxite mining operations; and processes bauxite into alumina and sells it to customers who process it into industrial chemical products, as well as aluminum smelting and casting businesses.