Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Upgraded to “Buy” by Argus

Argus upgraded shares of Alcoa (NYSE:AA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. Argus currently has $48.00 target price on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on AA. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Alcoa from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. B. Riley upgraded shares of Alcoa from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $41.00 to $50.00 in a report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Alcoa from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Alcoa from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $41.00 price objective on shares of Alcoa in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.75.

Alcoa Stock Performance

Shares of AA opened at $41.89 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.52 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.14 and a beta of 2.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.55. Alcoa has a 52 week low of $23.14 and a 52 week high of $45.48. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $35.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.91.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The industrial products company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.34. Alcoa had a negative net margin of 5.14% and a negative return on equity of 7.29%. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($1.14) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Alcoa will post 0.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alcoa Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 29th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Alcoa’s payout ratio is currently -10.64%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alcoa

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alcoa during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Alcoa by 481.7% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 762 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 631 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in Alcoa by 1,501.9% in the 1st quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 1,698 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,592 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in Alcoa by 15.1% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alcoa during the first quarter valued at approximately $101,000. 82.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.