Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $46.60 and last traded at $46.57, with a volume of 2143745 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $45.74.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. B. Riley raised Alcoa from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $41.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Alcoa from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Argus upgraded shares of Alcoa from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America raised shares of Alcoa from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $43.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Alcoa from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alcoa has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.75.

Alcoa Trading Up 1.7 %

The company has a market capitalization of $12.02 billion, a PE ratio of -26.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 2.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company’s fifty day moving average is $39.91 and its 200-day moving average is $37.82.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The industrial products company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.34. Alcoa had a negative return on equity of 1.45% and a negative net margin of 2.65%. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($1.14) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Alcoa Co. will post 0.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 29th. Alcoa’s payout ratio is currently -22.73%.

Insider Activity at Alcoa

In other Alcoa news, EVP Renato Bacchi sold 23,867 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.29, for a total value of $1,009,335.43. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 57,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,423,935.93. This trade represents a 29.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alcoa

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AA. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its position in shares of Alcoa by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 105,839 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,571,000 after acquiring an additional 737 shares during the period. Natixis raised its stake in shares of Alcoa by 55.9% in the first quarter. Natixis now owns 12,852 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $434,000 after purchasing an additional 4,610 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 1,501.9% during the first quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 1,698 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,592 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Alcoa by 29.8% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,067,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $69,869,000 after buying an additional 475,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cloverfields Capital Group LP increased its holdings in Alcoa by 27.6% in the 1st quarter. Cloverfields Capital Group LP now owns 32,449 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,096,000 after buying an additional 7,017 shares during the period.

About Alcoa

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.