Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume on Analyst Upgrade

Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $27.00 to $32.00. UBS Group currently has a sell 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.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. B. Riley upped their target price on shares of Alcoa from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Alcoa from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Alcoa from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Alcoa from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Alcoa from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.96.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Tammi A. Jones sold 26,468 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.78, for a total transaction of $814,685.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 41,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,267,089.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alcoa

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alcoa by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 8,748 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $788,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Alcoa by 0.6% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 48,391 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,206,000 after buying an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. State of Wisconsin Investment Board increased its holdings in Alcoa by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. State of Wisconsin Investment Board now owns 90,102 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,097,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in Alcoa during the first quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in Alcoa by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 26,485 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $900,000 after buying an additional 338 shares during the last quarter.

Alcoa Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $6.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 2.47. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $31.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last issued 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). The firm had revenue of $2.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.55 billion. Alcoa had a negative return on equity of 8.30% and a negative net margin of 6.41%. Alcoa’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.23) earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Alcoa Co. will post 0.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. Alcoa’s payout ratio is -10.64%.

Alcoa Company Profile

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.