Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) Short Interest Down 6.5% in January

Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,500,000 shares, a decline of 6.5% from the January 15th total of 9,090,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,790,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Alcoa Stock Up 2.1 %

AA stock opened at $36.99 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $37.14 and its 200 day moving average is $37.78. The stock has a market cap of $9.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -231.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 2.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Alcoa has a 1-year low of $24.86 and a 1-year high of $47.77.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 5.54% and a net margin of 0.50%. Sell-side analysts predict that Alcoa will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alcoa

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its position in Alcoa by 41.6% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 313,822 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,107,000 after buying an additional 92,201 shares during the period. ING Groep NV bought a new stake in shares of Alcoa in the 3rd quarter valued at about $10,201,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $24,233,000 after acquiring an additional 36,869 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP boosted its holdings in Alcoa by 73.0% during the 3rd quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 36,848 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,422,000 after acquiring an additional 15,546 shares during the period. Finally, Mountaineer Partners Management LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 10,534,036 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Argus raised shares of Alcoa from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Alcoa to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Alcoa from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Alcoa from $55.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Alcoa from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.55.

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.