Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Alcoa (NYSE:AA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Saturday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on AA. Bank of America dropped their price target on Alcoa from $57.00 to $51.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $70.00 price objective on Alcoa in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. B. Riley Financial lowered their target price on Alcoa from $92.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Alcoa from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $53.00 price target (down from $79.00) on shares of Alcoa in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alcoa currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.09.

Alcoa Price Performance

AA opened at $44.85 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Alcoa has a 12 month low of $28.50 and a 12 month high of $84.38. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.32. The stock has a market cap of $11.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.63.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The industrial products company reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.25 by ($0.13). Alcoa had a return on equity of 18.90% and a net margin of 9.48%.The business had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.39 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Alcoa will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Alcoa Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. Alcoa’s payout ratio is 8.23%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AA. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Alcoa during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in shares of Alcoa during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 52,500.0% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 526 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in shares of Alcoa by 5,281.8% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 592 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. 82.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.