Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Shares Gap Up to $36.23

Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $36.23, but opened at $37.47. Alcoa shares last traded at $37.05, with a volume of 965,211 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AA shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Alcoa from $27.00 to $29.50 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. StockNews.com raised Alcoa from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Bank of America increased their target price on Alcoa from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Alcoa in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $29.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Alcoa from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.88.

Alcoa Stock Down 2.8 %

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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $30.29 and a 200 day moving average of $28.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.64, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 2.47.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 17th. The industrial products company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.85) by $0.29. The business had revenue of $2.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.59 billion. Alcoa had a negative net margin of 6.17% and a negative return on equity of 6.56%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.70) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alcoa Co. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alcoa Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 4th. Alcoa’s payout ratio is currently -10.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Tammi A. Jones sold 26,468 shares of Alcoa stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.78, for a total transaction of $814,685.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 41,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,267,089.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Institutional Trading of Alcoa

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AA. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in Alcoa during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in Alcoa in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Alcoa during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alcoa in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in shares of Alcoa in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000.

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.