Morgan Stanley Upgrades Alcoa (NYSE:AA) to “Equal Weight”

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) was upgraded by analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $36.50 price target on the industrial products company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $28.50. Morgan Stanley’s target price indicates a potential upside of 1.25% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Alcoa from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Bank of America lifted their price objective 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. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Alcoa from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Alcoa from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Alcoa from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alcoa currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.54.

Alcoa Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE:AA opened at $36.05 on Monday. Alcoa has a 1-year low of $23.07 and a 1-year high of $38.54. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $31.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.22. The company has a market capitalization of $6.47 billion, a PE ratio of -9.59, a P/E/G ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 2.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The industrial products company reported ($0.81) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.62) by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $2.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.55 billion. Alcoa had a negative net margin of 6.41% and a negative return on equity of 8.51%. Alcoa’s revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.23) EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Alcoa will post 0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Tammi A. Jones sold 26,468 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,267,089.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alcoa

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in Alcoa by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 51,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,737,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank grew its position in shares of Alcoa by 8.0% in the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 121,732 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,113,000 after purchasing an additional 9,027 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alcoa in the first quarter valued at approximately $422,000. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its position in Alcoa by 2.6% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 43,875 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,483,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Alcoa by 15.0% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 14,344 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $485,000 after acquiring an additional 1,867 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.39% of the company’s stock.

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.