StockNews.com Lowers Alcoa (NYSE:AA) to Sell

StockNews.com lowered shares of Alcoa (NYSE:AA) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Friday morning.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Alcoa from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Alcoa from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Alcoa from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Alcoa from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, B. Riley increased their price target on shares of Alcoa from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alcoa currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $32.96.

Alcoa Price Performance

AA stock opened at $35.53 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Alcoa has a one year low of $23.07 and a one year high of $42.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.38 billion, a PE ratio of -9.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 2.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $31.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.09.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The industrial products company reported ($0.81) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.62) by ($0.19). Alcoa had a negative net margin of 6.41% and a negative return on equity of 8.51%. The firm had revenue of $2.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.23) earnings per share. Alcoa’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Alcoa will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 5th were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. Alcoa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -10.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alcoa news, EVP Tammi A. Jones sold 26,468 shares of Alcoa stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,267,089.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AA. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its position in Alcoa by 2.2% in the first quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 8,748 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $788,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in Alcoa by 0.6% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 48,391 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,206,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the period. State of Wisconsin Investment Board grew its holdings in Alcoa by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. State of Wisconsin Investment Board now owns 90,102 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,097,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in Alcoa in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in Alcoa by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 26,485 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $900,000 after buying an additional 338 shares during the period.

Alcoa Company Profile

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.