Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume

Shares of Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) saw strong trading volume on Monday . 2,076,836 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the previous session’s volume of 5,974,672 shares.The stock last traded at $34.91 and had previously closed at $32.52.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AA has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of Alcoa from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $32.00 to $38.00 in a report on Monday, August 12th. Wolfe Research upgraded Alcoa from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Alcoa from $32.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. StockNews.com upgraded Alcoa from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Alcoa from $46.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.09.

Alcoa Trading Up 7.5 %

The company has a market capitalization of $6.28 billion, a PE ratio of -9.31 and a beta of 2.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company’s fifty day moving average is $33.05 and its 200-day moving average is $35.53.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The industrial products company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.84 billion. Alcoa had a negative return on equity of 7.29% and a negative net margin of 5.14%. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.35) EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Alcoa Co. will post 0.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Alcoa’s dividend payout ratio is currently -10.64%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alcoa

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd purchased a new position in Alcoa during the 2nd quarter worth $93,061,000. L1 Capital Pty Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Alcoa during the first quarter valued at about $72,658,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Alcoa in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,730,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in Alcoa by 770.9% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,422,797 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $56,599,000 after purchasing an additional 1,259,430 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP grew its position in Alcoa by 202.2% during the 1st quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 1,491,544 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $50,399,000 after purchasing an additional 997,912 shares during the last quarter. 82.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.