Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $41.64.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research raised Alcoa from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Alcoa from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $41.00 price target on shares of Alcoa in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. B. Riley boosted their price objective on shares of Alcoa from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Alcoa in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company.

Alcoa Stock Performance

Shares of AA stock opened at $39.12 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.40 and a beta of 2.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $33.04 and a 200 day moving average of $36.22. Alcoa has a 52 week low of $23.07 and a 52 week high of $45.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The industrial products company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.05. Alcoa had a negative net margin of 5.14% and a negative return on equity of 7.29%. The firm had revenue of $2.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.84 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.35) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Alcoa will post 0.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Alcoa Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Alcoa’s dividend payout ratio is currently -10.64%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alcoa

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AA. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alcoa in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Alcoa during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in shares of Alcoa by 1,501.9% during the first quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 1,698 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,592 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 15.1% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Alcoa during the second quarter valued at $102,000. Institutional investors own 82.39% of the company’s stock.

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.