Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Hold”

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Alcoa (NYSE:AA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Argus set a $73.00 price objective on Alcoa in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Alcoa from $54.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Morgan Stanley raised Alcoa from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $64.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Alcoa from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Alcoa from $48.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alcoa currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.27.

Alcoa Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:AA opened at $63.14 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.66 billion, a PE ratio of 15.99 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.48. Alcoa has a 52-week low of $25.78 and a 52-week high of $75.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $65.08 and a 200 day moving average of $55.44.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.15 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Alcoa will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alcoa Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Alcoa’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.13%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alcoa

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alcoa during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 52,500.0% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 526 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 237 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in Alcoa by 5,281.8% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 592 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP raised its holdings in Alcoa by 96.0% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 694 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. 82.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.