Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) Short Interest Update

Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,500,000 shares, a drop of 6.5% from the January 15th total of 9,090,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,790,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AA. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Alcoa from $55.00 to $51.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Alcoa to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. B. Riley upgraded Alcoa to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Alcoa from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Alcoa to $43.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.55.

Alcoa Stock Performance

Shares of AA traded down $2.85 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $34.40. The stock had a trading volume of 6,784,982 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,124,056. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $37.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.76. Alcoa has a 12 month low of $24.86 and a 12 month high of $47.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.89 billion, a PE ratio of -214.98, a PEG ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 2.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.13. Alcoa had a return on equity of 5.54% and a net margin of 0.50%. Analysts anticipate that Alcoa will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Alcoa Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. Alcoa's dividend payout ratio is currently -250.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alcoa

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alcoa by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,979,129 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $981,491,000 after buying an additional 165,420 shares in the last quarter. Mountaineer Partners Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Alcoa by 4,023.0% in the third quarter. Mountaineer Partners Management LLC now owns 10,795,880 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $416,505,000 after buying an additional 10,534,036 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Alcoa by 23.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,563,645 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $368,965,000 after buying an additional 1,805,915 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Alcoa in the fourth quarter worth about $259,273,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Alcoa by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,232,766 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $159,966,000 after purchasing an additional 39,022 shares during the period.

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.