Wall Street Zen Downgrades Alcoa (NYSE:AA) to Hold

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Sunday.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on AA. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Alcoa to $31.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective (down from $58.00) on shares of Alcoa in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of Alcoa in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. B. Riley decreased their target price on Alcoa from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Q1 EBITDA beat expectations, Q2 EBITDA estimate raised to 439M from 351M Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their price target on shares of Alcoa to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.75.

Alcoa Trading Up 3.2%

Alcoa stock opened at $28.75 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $27.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.92. The company has a market capitalization of $7.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.16 and a beta of 2.27. Alcoa has a 52 week low of $21.53 and a 52 week high of $47.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The industrial products company reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $3.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.58 billion. Alcoa had a net margin of 6.79% and a return on equity of 18.56%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Alcoa will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alcoa

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Alcoa by 77.1% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 680 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Alcoa by 134.7% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 906 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Alcoa during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Alcoa in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alcoa by 59.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 393 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.