Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Price Target Increased to $32.00 by Analysts at UBS Group

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) had its price target upped by UBS Group from $27.00 to $32.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a sell rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on AA. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Alcoa from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America increased their price objective on Alcoa from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Alcoa from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Alcoa from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, B. Riley increased their price objective on Alcoa from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $32.96.

Alcoa Price Performance

AA stock opened at $35.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.38 billion, a PE ratio of -9.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 2.47. Alcoa has a 1 year low of $23.07 and a 1 year high of $42.23.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The industrial products company reported ($0.81) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $2.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.23) earnings per share. Alcoa’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Alcoa will post 0.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Tammi A. Jones sold 26,468 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,267,089.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alcoa

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

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.