Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) Short Interest Update

Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) saw a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,420,000 shares, an increase of 34.4% from the January 31st total of 8,500,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,600,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alcoa

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Alcoa by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 8,973 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $339,000 after buying an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Alcoa by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 52,624 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,988,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in shares of Alcoa by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 6,521 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Alcoa by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,469 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.39% of the company’s stock.

Alcoa Price Performance

Alcoa stock opened at $32.38 on Thursday. 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 12-month low of $26.90 and a 12-month high of $47.77. The stock has a market cap of $8.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -202.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 2.43. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.01.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.13. Alcoa had a return on equity of 5.54% and a net margin of 0.50%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Alcoa will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. Alcoa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -250.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AA has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Alcoa to $43.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America raised their target price on Alcoa to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Alcoa from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Alcoa from $55.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, B. Riley upgraded Alcoa to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alcoa presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.55.

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.