Moors & Cabot Inc. Boosts Stake in Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA)

Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its position in Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 685 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Alcoa were worth $576,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Alcoa in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Alcoa by 59.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Alcoa during the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake 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 worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Alcoa by 78.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 598 shares during the last quarter. 82.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alcoa Stock Up 3.9 %

Shares of NYSE AA opened at $33.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -209.73, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 2.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $35.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.89. Alcoa Co. has a 52-week low of $27.12 and a 52-week high of $47.77.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.13. Alcoa had a return on equity of 5.54% and a net margin of 0.50%. Sell-side analysts expect that Alcoa Co. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Alcoa’s payout ratio is -250.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AA shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Alcoa from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Alcoa from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Alcoa to $43.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. B. Riley raised Alcoa to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Alcoa to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.17.

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.