Analysts Set Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) Target Price at $44.75

Shares of Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $44.75.

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. 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. Argus upgraded Alcoa from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America upgraded Alcoa from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $43.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. B. Riley upgraded Alcoa from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $41.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Alcoa from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $36.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th.

Alcoa Stock Performance

NYSE:AA traded down $0.92 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $41.10. The company had a trading volume of 3,768,912 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,935,160. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $35.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.98. The firm has a market cap of $7.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.93 and a beta of 2.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Alcoa has a 52 week low of $23.17 and a 52 week high of $45.48.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA - Get Free Report) last posted 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 analysts' expectations of $2.97 billion. Alcoa had a negative return on equity of 7.29% and a negative net margin of 5.14%. Alcoa's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($1.14) earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Alcoa will post 0.29 EPS for the current year.

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 29th. Alcoa's payout ratio is presently -10.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Renato Bacchi sold 23,867 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.29, for a total transaction of $1,009,335.43. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 57,317 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,423,935.93. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.08% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alcoa

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Alcoa by 15.1% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,353 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Alcoa by 12.0% in the 3rd 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. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Alcoa by 1.4% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 26,965 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,073,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Alcoa by 5.7% during the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 7,750 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 19.5% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,651 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the period. 82.39% of the stock is currently 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.