Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Upgraded to “Hold” by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Alcoa (NYSE:AA) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Thursday morning.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Alcoa from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. B. Riley upgraded shares of Alcoa from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $41.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Alcoa from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Alcoa from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Alcoa from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alcoa currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.45.

Alcoa Price Performance

Shares of AA stock opened at $41.71 on Thursday. Alcoa has a twelve month low of $23.07 and a twelve month high of $45.48. The company has a market capitalization of $7.49 billion, a PE ratio of -11.09 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. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.80.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The industrial products company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($1.14) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Alcoa will post 0.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alcoa Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 29th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Alcoa’s dividend payout ratio is presently -10.64%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Alcoa by 15.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 12.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake 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 period. Diversified Trust Co raised 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 purchasing an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted 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 period. 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.