Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Shares Gap Up to $38.46

Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $38.46, but opened at $40.31. Alcoa shares last traded at $38.55, with a volume of 1,516,453 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Alcoa from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Alcoa from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. B. Riley boosted their price objective on Alcoa from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Alcoa from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Alcoa from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.45.

Alcoa Stock Down 0.5 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $40.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market cap of $7.00 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.37 and a beta of 2.45.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The industrial products company reported ($0.81) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.62) by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $2.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.55 billion. Alcoa had a negative return on equity of 8.51% and a negative net margin of 6.41%. Alcoa’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.23) EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Alcoa Co. will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 20th. Alcoa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -10.64%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alcoa

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AA. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 34.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,312,340 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $146,626,000 after acquiring an additional 1,104,423 shares in the last quarter. L1 Capital Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Alcoa in the first quarter valued at approximately $72,658,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Alcoa by 29.8% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,067,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $69,869,000 after buying an additional 475,000 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its position in shares of Alcoa by 202.2% in the first quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 1,491,544 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $50,399,000 after buying an additional 997,912 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Alcoa by 43.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,478,424 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $49,958,000 after purchasing an additional 444,393 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.39% of the company’s stock.

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.