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 research report sent to investors on Friday morning.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on AA. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Alcoa from $27.00 to $29.50 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Alcoa from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Alcoa from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday. B. Riley lifted their price objective on shares of Alcoa from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Alcoa from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a report on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $32.96.

Alcoa Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:AA opened at $35.53 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Alcoa has a 12-month low of $23.07 and a 12-month high of $42.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $31.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 2.47.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The industrial products company reported ($0.81) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.62) by ($0.19). Alcoa had a negative net margin of 6.41% and a negative return on equity of 8.30%. The business had revenue of $2.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.23) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Alcoa will post 0.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alcoa Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. Alcoa’s payout ratio is -10.64%.

Insider Transactions at Alcoa

In other news, EVP Tammi A. Jones sold 26,468 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.78, for a total transaction of $814,685.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 41,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,267,089.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alcoa during the 1st quarter worth about $422,000. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Alcoa by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 43,875 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,483,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Alcoa by 15.0% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 14,344 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $485,000 after acquiring an additional 1,867 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Alcoa by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 7,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $50,399,000 after acquiring an additional 997,912 shares in the last quarter.

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.