Alcoa Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:AA)

Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Monday. Traders purchased 31,002 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 86% compared to the typical daily volume of 16,681 call options.

Insider Activity at Alcoa

In related news, EVP Renato Bacchi sold 23,867 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.29, for a total transaction of $1,009,335.43. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,423,935.93. This represents a 29.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alcoa

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AA. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alcoa in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Alcoa by 481.7% in the third 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 period. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Alcoa during the third quarter valued at $43,000. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its position in Alcoa by 1,945.5% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,125 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 1,070 shares during the period. Finally, Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new stake in Alcoa in the 3rd quarter worth about $89,000. 82.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alcoa Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE AA traded down $0.53 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $37.15. 2,570,522 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,659,054. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.60 billion, a PE ratio of -21.11, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 2.44. Alcoa has a 12 month low of $24.86 and a 12 month high of $47.77. The company has a 50 day moving average of $42.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The industrial products company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Alcoa had a negative return on equity of 1.45% and a negative net margin of 2.65%. The business’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($1.14) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Alcoa will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 29th. Alcoa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -22.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AA. StockNews.com upgraded Alcoa from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. B. Riley upgraded Alcoa from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $41.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. BMO Capital Markets lifted 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, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Alcoa from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Alcoa from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.73.

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.