Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $46.73.

AA has been the topic of a number of analyst 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. Argus upgraded shares of Alcoa from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Alcoa from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Alcoa from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Alcoa from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Renato Bacchi sold 23,867 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.29, for a total value of $1,009,335.43. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,317 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,423,935.93. The trade was a 29.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alcoa

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 19.5% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,651 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $145,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Alcoa by 536.7% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,878 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 2,426 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 79.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 22,400 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $891,000 after purchasing an additional 9,900 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd increased its stake in shares of Alcoa by 36.9% in the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 530,114 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $21,088,000 after purchasing an additional 142,761 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ninety One SA PTY Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Alcoa during the 2nd quarter worth $1,276,000. 82.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alcoa Stock Down 1.3 %

AA stock traded down $0.50 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $39.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,602,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,746,822. The company's fifty day moving average price is $42.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Alcoa has a twelve month low of $24.86 and a twelve month high of $47.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -22.23, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 2.44.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA - Get Free Report) last released 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. Alcoa had a negative return on equity of 1.45% and a negative net margin of 2.65%. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($1.14) earnings per share. Alcoa's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alcoa will post 0.9 EPS for the current year.

Alcoa Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 29th. Alcoa's payout ratio is -22.73%.

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.