Alcoa Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:AA)

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock traders purchased 26,477 call options on the company. This is an increase of 37% compared to the typical volume of 19,324 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on AA. Wall Street Zen downgraded Alcoa from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Alcoa from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Alcoa from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. B. Riley lifted their price target on Alcoa from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Alcoa from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.27.

Alcoa Trading Down 3.2%

Shares of AA stock opened at $31.58 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $31.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.32. Alcoa has a 12-month low of $21.53 and a 12-month high of $47.77. The firm has a market cap of $8.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.18 and a beta of 2.26.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The industrial products company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.10. Alcoa had a return on equity of 19.18% and a net margin of 7.86%.The firm had revenue of $3.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.16 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Alcoa will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 12th. Alcoa’s payout ratio is 10.44%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alcoa

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Alcoa by 1,096.0% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 897 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 822 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Alcoa by 134.7% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 906 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alcoa in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alcoa in the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Alcoa in the 1st quarter valued at about $57,000. Institutional investors 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.