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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Alcoa (NYSE:AA - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Friday morning.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. B. Riley reduced their price objective on Alcoa from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Q1 EBITDA beat expectations, Q2 EBITDA estimate raised to 439M from 351M Bank of America reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $26.00 price target (down previously from $58.00) on shares of Alcoa in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Alcoa from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Alcoa from $55.00 to $51.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Alcoa from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $44.17.

Alcoa Price Performance

AA stock traded up $0.72 on Friday, reaching $25.04. 5,809,663 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,424,258. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $30.55 and a 200-day moving average of $36.73. The firm has a market cap of $6.48 billion, a PE ratio of -156.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 2.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Alcoa has a twelve month low of $21.53 and a twelve month high of $47.77.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The industrial products company reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.42. Alcoa had a net margin of 0.50% and a return on equity of 5.54%. The business had revenue of $3.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.58 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alcoa will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. Alcoa's dividend payout ratio is currently 12.05%.

Institutional Trading of Alcoa

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in Alcoa by 77.1% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 680 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Alcoa by 134.7% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 906 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Alcoa in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Alcoa during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Alcoa by 59.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,051 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 393 shares in 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.