Empowered Funds LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Alcoa $AA

Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Alcoa (NYSE:AA) by 64.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 118,039 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 46,332 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Alcoa were worth $7,830,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Moran Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Alcoa in the fourth quarter worth $2,631,000. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 114.2% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 28,945 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,538,000 after purchasing an additional 15,432 shares during the last quarter. Drummond Knight Asset Management Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. Drummond Knight Asset Management Pty Ltd now owns 1,060,523 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $56,356,000 after purchasing an additional 130,915 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alcoa during the 4th quarter valued at $1,399,000. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alcoa in the 4th quarter worth $1,130,000. 82.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alcoa Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE:AA opened at $45.31 on Friday. Alcoa has a 12 month low of $28.11 and a 12 month high of $84.38. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market capitalization of $11.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.32, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.63.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Alcoa had a net margin of 9.48% and a return on equity of 18.90%. The company had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.99 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.39 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Alcoa will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Alcoa Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. Alcoa’s payout ratio is presently 8.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Alcoa from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Alcoa from $57.00 to $51.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $53.00 price target (down from $79.00) on shares of Alcoa in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Zacks Research lowered Alcoa from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Alcoa from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.09.

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.