Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) Short Interest Up 34.4% in February

Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,420,000 shares, a growth of 34.4% from the January 31st total of 8,500,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,600,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Alcoa Trading Down 5.8 %

Shares of AA opened at $31.33 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.11 billion, a PE ratio of -195.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 2.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $36.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.02. Alcoa has a fifty-two week low of $26.57 and a fifty-two week high of $47.77.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.13. Alcoa had a return on equity of 5.54% and a net margin of 0.50%. As a group, analysts forecast that Alcoa will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Alcoa’s payout ratio is -250.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AA has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Alcoa to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Alcoa from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. B. Riley upgraded Alcoa to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Alcoa to $43.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Alcoa from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.55.

Institutional Trading of Alcoa

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mountaineer Partners Management LLC boosted its position in Alcoa by 4,023.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mountaineer Partners Management LLC now owns 10,795,880 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $416,505,000 after purchasing an additional 10,534,036 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Alcoa during the 4th quarter worth $259,273,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in Alcoa by 23.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,563,645 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $368,965,000 after purchasing an additional 1,805,915 shares during the period. Sourcerock Group LLC boosted its position in Alcoa by 319.1% during the 4th quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC now owns 1,978,009 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $74,729,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506,009 shares during the period. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co boosted its position in Alcoa by 11,317.8% during the 3rd quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 1,427,799 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,084,000 after purchasing an additional 1,415,294 shares during the period. 82.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alcoa Company Profile

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.