Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Lifted to “Buy” at Argus

Argus upgraded shares of Alcoa (NYSE:AA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $48.00 target price on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on AA. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $41.00 price objective on shares of Alcoa in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Alcoa from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Alcoa from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Wolfe Research upgraded Alcoa from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Alcoa from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.75.

Alcoa Stock Performance

NYSE:AA opened at $41.10 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $7.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.93 and a beta of 2.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $35.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.98. Alcoa has a twelve month low of $23.17 and a twelve month high of $45.48.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The industrial products company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.34. Alcoa had a negative net margin of 5.14% and a negative return on equity of 7.29%. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.14) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alcoa will post 0.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alcoa Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders 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 is Tuesday, October 29th. Alcoa’s payout ratio is -10.64%.

Insider Activity

In other Alcoa news, EVP Renato Bacchi sold 23,867 shares of Alcoa stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.29, for a total value of $1,009,335.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,423,935.93. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alcoa

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake 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 buying an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Alcoa by 12.0% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,222 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Alcoa by 1.4% in 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 period. Diversified Trust Co boosted its position in Alcoa by 5.7% in the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 7,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Alcoa by 19.5% during the 2nd 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.39% of the company’s stock.

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.