Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Raised to Buy at B. Riley

B. Riley upgraded shares of Alcoa (NYSE:AA) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. B. Riley currently has $50.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $41.00.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Alcoa from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Alcoa from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. B. Riley Financial restated a “neutral” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Alcoa in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Alcoa in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Alcoa from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $43.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.45.

Alcoa Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AA opened at $41.71 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.49 billion, a PE ratio of -11.09 and a beta of 2.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $34.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.80. Alcoa has a fifty-two week low of $23.07 and a fifty-two week high of $45.48.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The industrial products company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. Alcoa had a negative return on equity of 7.29% and a negative net margin of 5.14%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.14) EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alcoa will post 0.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alcoa Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 29th. Alcoa’s dividend payout ratio is -10.64%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Alcoa during the 1st quarter worth approximately $210,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its holdings in Alcoa by 24.7% during the 1st quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 4,044 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC increased its holdings in Alcoa by 12.9% during the 1st quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 1,351,720 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,675,000 after purchasing an additional 154,403 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Alcoa in the first quarter valued at approximately $252,000. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 202.2% in the first quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 1,491,544 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $50,399,000 after acquiring an additional 997,912 shares in the last quarter. 82.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.