Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $75.75 and last traded at $75.8790, with a volume of 1428867 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $73.15.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AA shares. Zacks Research downgraded Alcoa from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings raised Alcoa from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Alcoa from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $64.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Alcoa from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, B. Riley Financial lifted their price target on shares of Alcoa from $78.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.60.

Alcoa Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $20.48 billion, a PE ratio of 19.64 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company’s 50 day moving average is $66.66 and its 200-day moving average is $58.75.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The industrial products company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by ($0.20). Alcoa had a net margin of 8.27% and a return on equity of 12.57%. The firm had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.15 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Alcoa will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Alcoa Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 19th. Alcoa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.13%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alcoa

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AA. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Alcoa by 1,098.0% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,704 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 10,727 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Alcoa by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 646,609 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $19,722,000 after acquiring an additional 4,624 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Alcoa by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 640,528 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,902,000 after purchasing an additional 12,008 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Alcoa by 173.8% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,040 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 1,295 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Alcoa by 320.1% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 269,982 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,967,000 after acquiring an additional 205,717 shares in the last quarter.

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.