Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) Short Interest Update

Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,420,000 shares, a growth of 34.4% from the January 31st total of 8,500,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,600,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Alcoa Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AA opened at $32.38 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -202.34, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 2.43. Alcoa has a one year low of $26.90 and a one year high of $47.77.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.04 EPS 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 expect that Alcoa will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Alcoa’s payout ratio is -250.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AA shares. B. Riley raised Alcoa to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Alcoa from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Alcoa to $43.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Alcoa from $55.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Alcoa from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.55.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its stake 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 worth $12,107,000 after acquiring an additional 92,201 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV acquired a new position in Alcoa during the third quarter worth $10,201,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Alcoa by 6.2% during the third 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 worth $24,233,000 after acquiring an additional 36,869 shares in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP raised its stake in Alcoa by 73.0% during the third quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 36,848 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,422,000 after acquiring an additional 15,546 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mountaineer Partners Management LLC raised its stake in Alcoa by 4,023.0% during the third 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 in the last quarter. 82.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.