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

Alcoa (NYSE:AA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Thursday.

AA has been the topic of a number of other reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Alcoa from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $41.00 target price on shares of Alcoa in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Alcoa from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Alcoa from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Alcoa from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alcoa has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $44.36.

Alcoa Stock Performance

NYSE AA traded down $1.74 during trading on Thursday, reaching $40.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,247,729 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,994,032. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $34.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.74. Alcoa has a 12 month low of $23.07 and a 12 month high of $45.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.73 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 (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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Alcoa had a negative return on equity of 7.29% and a negative net margin of 5.14%. Alcoa's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.14) EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alcoa will post 0.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alcoa

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AA. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Alcoa by 15.1% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,353 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 309 shares during 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 valued at $1,073,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co lifted its holdings in Alcoa by 5.7% during the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 7,750 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its position in Alcoa by 19.5% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,651 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Alcoa by 481.7% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 762 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares during the period. 82.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alcoa Company Profile

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.

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