Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA)’s stock price 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AA has been the topic of several research reports. Wolfe Research upgraded Alcoa from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. B. Riley Financial restated a “neutral” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Alcoa in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Alcoa in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. B. Riley raised their price target on shares of Alcoa from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Alcoa from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.64.

Alcoa Trading Up 4.5 %

The business’s 50 day moving average is $33.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.91 and a beta of 2.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The industrial products company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.05. Alcoa had a negative return on equity of 7.29% and a negative net margin of 5.14%. The firm had revenue of $2.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.35) earnings per share. Alcoa’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Alcoa Co. will post 0.29 EPS for the current year.

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Alcoa’s dividend payout ratio is presently -10.64%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alcoa during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Alcoa by 481.7% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 762 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Alcoa in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in Alcoa by 1,501.9% during the 1st quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 1,698 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 1,592 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Alcoa by 15.1% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 309 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.39% of the company’s stock.

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.