Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Lifted to “Hold” at StockNews.com

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

AA has been the topic of a number of other reports. B. Riley lifted their price objective on Alcoa from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Alcoa from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Alcoa from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Alcoa from $32.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Alcoa from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a sell rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alcoa currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $39.00.

Alcoa Stock Performance

AA opened at $34.92 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market cap of $6.27 billion, a PE ratio of -9.29 and a beta of 2.45. Alcoa has a 1 year low of $23.07 and a 1 year high of $45.48.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The industrial products company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.05. Alcoa had a negative net margin of 5.14% and a negative return on equity of 7.29%. The firm had revenue of $2.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.35) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alcoa will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 20th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. Alcoa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -10.64%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alcoa

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AA. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Alcoa by 79.2% in the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 22,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $891,000 after buying an additional 9,900 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alcoa by 536.7% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,878 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 2,426 shares during the last quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Alcoa in the 2nd quarter worth $230,000. Diversified Trust Co increased its holdings in Alcoa by 9.8% in the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 8,512 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 762 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in Alcoa in the second quarter valued at about $858,000.

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.