Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Downgraded to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Alcoa (NYSE:AA) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Friday.

AA has been the subject of several other research reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on Alcoa from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Alcoa from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Alcoa in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. B. Riley lifted their target price on shares of Alcoa from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Alcoa from $46.00 to $43.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $40.45.

Alcoa Price Performance

AA opened at $34.21 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.10 and a beta of 2.42. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $32.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.80. Alcoa has a fifty-two week low of $23.07 and a fifty-two week high of $45.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The industrial products company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.84 billion. Alcoa had a negative return on equity of 7.29% and a negative net margin of 5.14%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.35) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Alcoa will post 0.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Alcoa’s dividend payout ratio is presently -10.64%.

Institutional Trading of Alcoa

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AA. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Alcoa in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $93,061,000. L1 Capital Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Alcoa during the first quarter worth $72,658,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Alcoa during the fourth quarter valued at $45,730,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Alcoa by 770.9% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,422,797 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $56,599,000 after purchasing an additional 1,259,430 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 202.2% in 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. 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.