Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Sees Strong Trading Volume on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) saw unusually-high trading volume on Thursday after Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on the stock from $45.00 to $48.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Approximately 2,384,408 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 62% from the previous session’s volume of 6,303,964 shares.The stock last traded at $33.98 and had previously closed at $35.55.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Alcoa from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Alcoa from $27.00 to $29.50 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Alcoa from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. UBS Group began coverage on Alcoa in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a “sell” rating and a $29.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised Alcoa from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.21.

Insider Transactions at Alcoa

In other news, EVP Tammi A. Jones sold 26,468 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.78, for a total value of $814,685.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 41,166 shares in the company, valued at $1,267,089.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alcoa

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AA. Diversified Trust Co increased 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 buying an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP grew its position in shares of Alcoa by 202.2% in the 1st 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 period. Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alcoa during the 1st quarter worth about $252,000. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 1,351,720 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,675,000 after purchasing an additional 154,403 shares during the period. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise grew its holdings in Alcoa by 24.7% during the first quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 4,044 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period.

Alcoa Trading Down 0.3 %

The stock has a market cap of $6.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 2.47. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The industrial products company reported ($0.81) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.62) by ($0.19). Alcoa had a negative return on equity of 6.56% and a negative net margin of 6.17%. The business had revenue of $2.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.23) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Alcoa Co. will post 0.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 4th. Alcoa’s dividend payout ratio is currently -10.96%.

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.