Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Upgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Alcoa (NYSE:AA) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Thursday.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Alcoa from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $41.00 target price on shares of Alcoa in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Alcoa from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $43.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Alcoa from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Alcoa from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.45.

Alcoa Stock Up 3.4 %

NYSE AA opened at $41.71 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.09 and a beta of 2.42. Alcoa has a 12 month low of $23.07 and a 12 month high of $45.48. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.80.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The industrial products company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.14) EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Alcoa will post 0.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alcoa

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AA. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Alcoa by 12.0% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,222 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $128,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alcoa by 23.7% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 6,884 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its holdings in Alcoa by 70.9% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 11,836 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $457,000 after purchasing an additional 4,909 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in Alcoa by 33.4% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 31,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,227,000 after purchasing an additional 7,964 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Douglas Lane & Associates LLC increased its position in Alcoa by 2.0% during the third quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 1,421,955 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $54,859,000 after buying an additional 27,217 shares during the last quarter. 82.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.