Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Shares Down 11.3% – Here’s Why

Alcoa (NYSE:AA)’s share price dropped 11.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $55.80 and last traded at $56.9890. Approximately 3,666,660 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 53% from the average daily volume of 7,790,367 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.23.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Alcoa from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Citigroup lifted their price target on Alcoa from $54.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $52.00 target price on shares of Alcoa in a research report on Monday, December 15th. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Alcoa in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Alcoa from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.45.

Alcoa Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $15.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.06 and a beta of 1.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.59.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $6.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. Alcoa had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 9.12%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.04 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Alcoa will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Alcoa Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. Alcoa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alcoa

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Alcoa by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,682 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $568,000 after buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC lifted its holdings in Alcoa by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 57,940 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,079,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its position in Alcoa by 74.1% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 557 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Alcoa by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 13,596 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $722,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in Alcoa by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 22,497 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $740,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the period.

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.