Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $46.45.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Alcoa from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Argus raised shares of Alcoa from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of 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 Alcoa from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $41.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Alcoa from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th.

Alcoa Stock Up 3.6 %

AA opened at $38.19 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $41.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.70, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 2.47. Alcoa has a fifty-two week low of $24.86 and a fifty-two week high of $47.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.41.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.34. Alcoa had a negative return on equity of 1.45% and a negative net margin of 2.65%. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.14) EPS. Alcoa’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Alcoa will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Renato Bacchi sold 23,867 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.29, for a total value of $1,009,335.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,317 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,423,935.93. This represents a 29.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alcoa

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Alcoa during the second quarter worth about $787,000. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Alcoa by 2.5% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 50,268 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,000,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Alcoa by 407.8% during the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 31,629 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,258,000 after purchasing an additional 25,400 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC boosted its position in shares of Alcoa by 18.9% during the second quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 28,922 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,148,000 after buying an additional 4,605 shares during the period. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its stake in shares of Alcoa by 5.1% in the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 164,232 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,533,000 after buying an additional 8,035 shares in the last quarter. 82.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.