Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. Purchases 674,400 Shares of Alcoa $AA

Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alcoa (NYSE:AA) by 74.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,577,720 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 674,400 shares during the period. Alcoa makes up 1.6% of Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc.’s holdings in Alcoa were worth $82,262,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Sigma Planning Corp purchased a new position in shares of Alcoa in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,195,000. Two Sigma Securities LLC boosted its stake in Alcoa by 114.9% in the second quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC now owns 10,788 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $562,000 after acquiring an additional 5,768 shares during the last quarter. GTS Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Alcoa by 211.3% during the 2nd quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 22,245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,160,000 after acquiring an additional 15,100 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Alcoa by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 21,590 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,804 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alcoa in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,030,000.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alcoa news, EVP Tammi A. Jones sold 15,628 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.60, for a total value of $790,776.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,841.40. The trade was a 28.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on AA shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Alcoa from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Alcoa from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Argus decreased their price objective on Alcoa from $73.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Alcoa from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, B. Riley Financial reduced their target price on Alcoa from $92.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.09.

Alcoa Price Performance

NYSE:AA opened at $50.05 on Tuesday. Alcoa has a 52-week low of $30.21 and a 52-week high of $84.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $48.86 and a 200 day moving average of $59.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.63.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The industrial products company reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.99 billion. Alcoa had a return on equity of 18.90% and a net margin of 9.48%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Alcoa will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alcoa Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Alcoa’s payout ratio is presently 8.23%.

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.