Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $46.45.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AA shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Alcoa to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Alcoa from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Alcoa from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Alcoa from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Alcoa from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alcoa news, EVP Renato Bacchi sold 23,867 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.29, for a total transaction 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 $2,423,935.93. This trade represents a 29.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alcoa

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in Alcoa by 41.6% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 313,822 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,107,000 after buying an additional 92,201 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV acquired a new position in shares of Alcoa in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $10,201,000. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Alcoa by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 1,421,955 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $54,859,000 after purchasing an additional 27,217 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Alcoa by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 628,116 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $24,233,000 after purchasing an additional 36,869 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP raised its position in Alcoa by 73.0% in the third quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 36,848 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,422,000 after purchasing an additional 15,546 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.39% of the company’s stock.

Alcoa Stock Performance

NYSE AA opened at $35.89 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.39, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 2.47. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $41.47 and a 200 day moving average of $37.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Alcoa has a twelve month low of $24.86 and a twelve month high of $47.77.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The industrial products company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Alcoa had a negative return on equity of 1.45% and a negative net margin of 2.65%. The business’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($1.14) EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Alcoa will post 0.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 29th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 29th. Alcoa’s payout ratio is currently -22.73%.

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.