Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $54.36 and last traded at $53.6750, with a volume of 5555194 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.72.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. HSBC increased their price target on Alcoa from $33.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Alcoa in a report on Monday, December 15th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Alcoa from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Alcoa from $40.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Alcoa in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alcoa has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.15.

Alcoa Trading Down 0.1%

The business has a fifty day moving average of $40.75 and a 200-day moving average of $34.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.56. The company has a market capitalization of $13.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.40, a PEG ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 1.99.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $2.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. Alcoa had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 15.85%. The business’s revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.57 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Alcoa will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alcoa Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Alcoa’s payout ratio is 9.24%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mirabella Financial Services LLP grew its holdings in Alcoa by 12,233.1% during the third quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP now owns 40,082,462 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,318,312,000 after buying an additional 39,757,462 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Alcoa by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,458,529 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $376,871,000 after acquiring an additional 721,063 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Alcoa by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,118,560 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $365,710,000 after acquiring an additional 1,322,540 shares in the last quarter. L1 Capital Pty Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 22.3% in the third quarter. L1 Capital Pty Ltd now owns 5,887,699 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $193,646,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073,357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Alcoa by 4.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,637,897 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $136,898,000 after purchasing an additional 211,141 shares in the last quarter.

About Alcoa

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.