Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Shares Down 4.8% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Alcoa (NYSE:AA) were down 4.8% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $69.15 and last traded at $68.9060. Approximately 668,368 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 6,321,800 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.41.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AA shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Alcoa from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Alcoa from $54.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Alcoa from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $68.00 target price on shares of Alcoa in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Alcoa from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.60.

Alcoa Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $17.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.00 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.48. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $69.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.84.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The industrial products company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.60 by ($0.20). Alcoa had a net margin of 8.27% and a return on equity of 12.57%. The company had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.15 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Alcoa will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Alcoa Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Alcoa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.13%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alcoa

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 5,138 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $341,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Essential Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 20,525 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,361,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,682 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $568,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 57,940 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,079,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 74.1% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 557 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the period.

Alcoa Company Profile

Alcoa Corporation is a global industry leader in the production and management of aluminum, offering an integrated value chain that spans bauxite mining, alumina refining, primary aluminum smelting and the fabrication of value-added products. The company’s operations are organized into segments that include raw material extraction, chemical processing and the manufacture of metal mill products and engineered solutions.

Alcoa’s product portfolio serves diverse end markets such as aerospace, automotive, packaging, construction, electrical and industrial applications.