Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $41.64.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AA shares. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $41.00 target price on shares of Alcoa in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Alcoa from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Alcoa in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Bank of America raised Alcoa from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $43.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Alcoa from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st.

Alcoa Price Performance

NYSE AA opened at $39.48 on Tuesday. Alcoa has a fifty-two week low of $23.07 and a fifty-two week high of $45.48. The firm has a market cap of $7.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.50 and a beta of 2.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $33.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.36.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The industrial products company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.84 billion. Alcoa had a negative return on equity of 7.29% and a negative net margin of 5.14%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.35) EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Alcoa will post 0.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alcoa Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Alcoa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -10.64%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alcoa

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Alcoa by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,665,106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $265,132,000 after acquiring an additional 390,930 shares during the last quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd bought a new position in Alcoa in the second quarter valued at $93,061,000. L1 Capital Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in Alcoa in the 1st quarter valued at $72,658,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Alcoa by 29.8% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,067,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $69,869,000 after buying an additional 475,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP increased 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 acquiring an additional 997,912 shares during the last quarter. 82.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.