StockNews.com Downgrades Alcoa (NYSE:AA) to Sell

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Alcoa (NYSE:AA) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Friday.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. B. Riley increased their target price on shares of Alcoa from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Alcoa from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Alcoa from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a sell rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Alcoa from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Alcoa has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $32.96.

Alcoa Stock Performance

Shares of AA opened at $35.53 on Friday. Alcoa has a 12 month low of $23.07 and a 12 month high of $42.23. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.45, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 2.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last announced 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). Alcoa had a negative return on equity of 8.30% and a negative net margin of 6.41%. The business had revenue of $2.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.23) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Alcoa will post 0.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alcoa Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 4th. Alcoa’s payout ratio is presently -10.64%.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alcoa

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AA. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in Alcoa during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in Alcoa in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in Alcoa in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Alcoa in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Alcoa in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000.

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.