Short Interest in Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Increases By 26.7%

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) saw a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 7,591,654 shares, a growth of 26.7% from the December 15th total of 5,991,437 shares. Approximately 2.9% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 5,183,978 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days. Based on an average trading volume of 5,183,978 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days. Approximately 2.9% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AA. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Alcoa by 1,096.0% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 897 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 822 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in Alcoa during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Alcoa during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Horrell Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Alcoa in the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Alcoa by 74.1% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 557 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the period.

Alcoa Stock Performance

Shares of AA stock traded down $3.67 during trading on Friday, hitting $60.14. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 12,272,839 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,903,107. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a market cap of $15.57 billion, a PE ratio of 13.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.22 and a beta of 1.95. The business has a fifty day moving average of $48.54 and a 200-day moving average of $38.36. Alcoa has a 52 week low of $21.53 and a 52 week high of $66.95.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.13. Alcoa had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 8.91%.The business had revenue of $2.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.57 earnings per share. Alcoa’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Alcoa will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 4th were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Alcoa’s payout ratio is currently 9.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Alcoa from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. HSBC boosted their price objective on Alcoa from $33.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Argus set a $45.00 target price on Alcoa in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $71.00 target price on shares of Alcoa and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Alcoa from $42.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.83.

About Alcoa

Alcoa Corporation is a global industry leader in the production and management of aluminum, offering an integrated value chain that spans bauxite mining, alumina refining, primary aluminum smelting and the fabrication of value-added products. The company’s operations are organized into segments that include raw material extraction, chemical processing and the manufacture of metal mill products and engineered solutions.

Alcoa’s product portfolio serves diverse end markets such as aerospace, automotive, packaging, construction, electrical and industrial applications.