Alcoa Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:AA)

Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors purchased 27,556 call options on the company. This is an increase of 53% compared to the average volume of 18,056 call options.

Alcoa Stock Down 4.4 %

Shares of NYSE:AA opened at $30.58 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $7.92 billion, a PE ratio of -191.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 2.55. Alcoa has a 52 week low of $27.12 and a 52 week high of $47.77. The company’s fifty day moving average is $34.75 and its 200-day moving average is $38.06.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.13. Alcoa had a net margin of 0.50% and a return on equity of 5.54%. Equities research analysts predict that Alcoa will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. Alcoa’s payout ratio is -250.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alcoa

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AA. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its position in shares of Alcoa by 41.6% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 313,822 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,107,000 after purchasing an additional 92,201 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Alcoa by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 628,116 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $24,233,000 after purchasing an additional 36,869 shares during the last quarter. Mountaineer Partners Management LLC lifted its stake in Alcoa by 4,023.0% in the third quarter. Mountaineer Partners Management LLC now owns 10,795,880 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $416,505,000 after acquiring an additional 10,534,036 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Alcoa by 42.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,193,744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $161,838,000 after purchasing an additional 1,239,479 shares during the period. Finally, Impala Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alcoa during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,366,000. 82.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AA shares. Bank of America boosted their price target on Alcoa to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Alcoa from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Alcoa from $55.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. B. Riley upgraded shares of Alcoa to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Alcoa from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.92.

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.