Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $41.21, but opened at $43.86. Alcoa shares last traded at $44.20, with a volume of 2,959,951 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Alcoa from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $41.00 price target on shares of Alcoa in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Argus raised Alcoa from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Alcoa from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Alcoa from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.75.

Alcoa Stock Up 6.8 %

The firm has a market cap of $11.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 2.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $38.94 and a 200-day moving average of $37.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The industrial products company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.34. Alcoa had a negative net margin of 2.65% and a negative return on equity of 1.45%. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($1.14) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alcoa Co. will post 0.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 29th. Alcoa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -22.73%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Renato Bacchi sold 23,867 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was 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 owns 57,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,423,935.93. This represents a 29.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alcoa

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mountaineer Partners Management LLC lifted its position in Alcoa by 4,023.0% in the third quarter. Mountaineer Partners Management LLC now owns 10,795,880 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $416,505,000 after purchasing an additional 10,534,036 shares during the period. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd acquired a new position in Alcoa during the second quarter worth about $93,061,000. L1 Capital Pty Ltd bought a new stake in Alcoa in the first quarter worth about $72,658,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Alcoa by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,563,645 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $368,965,000 after acquiring an additional 1,805,915 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co boosted its position in shares of Alcoa by 11,317.8% during the 3rd quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 1,427,799 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,084,000 after purchasing an additional 1,415,294 shares in the last quarter. 82.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.