Jefferies Financial Group Increases Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Price Target to $48.00

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) had its price target boosted by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $45.00 to $48.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 35.10% from the stock’s previous close.

AA has been the topic of a number of other reports. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Alcoa in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a “sell” rating and a $29.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Alcoa from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Alcoa from $27.00 to $29.50 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Bank of America upped their target price 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Alcoa from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.96.

Alcoa Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE AA opened at $35.53 on Thursday. 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 has a 52 week low of $23.07 and a 52 week high of $42.23. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $31.14 and its 200 day moving average is $29.06. The company has a market cap of $6.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.45, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 2.47.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The industrial products company reported ($0.81) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.62) by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $2.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.55 billion. Alcoa had a negative return on equity of 8.30% and a negative net margin of 6.41%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.23) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Alcoa will post 0.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alcoa

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. bought a new position in Alcoa during the 1st quarter valued at about $422,000. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its stake in Alcoa by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 43,875 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,483,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Alcoa by 15.0% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 14,344 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $485,000 after acquiring an additional 1,867 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co lifted its stake in Alcoa by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 7,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the period. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its stake in Alcoa by 202.2% during 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.

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.