Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $39.25, but opened at $40.65. Alcoa shares last traded at $40.42, with a volume of 785,155 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AA shares. UBS Group raised their price target on Alcoa from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Alcoa in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. B. Riley increased their target price on shares of Alcoa from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $41.00 target price on shares of Alcoa in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Alcoa from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $43.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Alcoa has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.64.

Alcoa Trading Up 3.7 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.44.

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. The firm had revenue of $2.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.84 billion. Alcoa had a negative net margin of 5.14% and a negative return on equity of 7.29%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.35) EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Alcoa Co. will post 0.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Alcoa’s payout ratio is -12.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alcoa

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd bought a new stake in Alcoa during the second quarter valued at about $93,061,000. L1 Capital Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Alcoa during the first quarter worth approximately $72,658,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Alcoa by 770.9% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,422,797 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $56,599,000 after buying an additional 1,259,430 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP increased its stake in Alcoa by 202.2% during the 1st quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 1,491,544 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $50,399,000 after buying an additional 997,912 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake 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 in the last quarter.

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.