Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Rating Increased to Buy at Argus

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) was upgraded by research analysts at Argus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $48.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock. Argus’ price target indicates a potential upside of 14.26% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms also recently commented on AA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Alcoa from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. B. Riley Financial reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $41.00 price target on shares of Alcoa in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Alcoa from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Bank of America raised shares of Alcoa from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $43.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Alcoa from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.75.

Alcoa Price Performance

AA opened at $42.01 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $7.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.17 and a beta of 2.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $35.79 and a 200 day moving average of $36.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.55. Alcoa has a fifty-two week low of $23.14 and a fifty-two week high of $45.48.

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

Insider Activity at Alcoa

In related news, EVP Renato Bacchi sold 23,867 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.29, for a total value of $1,009,335.43. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,423,935.93. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in Alcoa during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 481.7% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 762 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 1,501.9% in 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 last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 15.1% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Alcoa in the first quarter worth approximately $101,000. 82.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.