Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Upgraded to Equal Weight by Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Alcoa (NYSE:AA) from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research report report published on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $36.50 target price on the industrial products company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $28.50.

AA has been the subject of several other research reports. B. Riley increased their target price on shares of Alcoa from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Alcoa from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Alcoa from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a report on Friday. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Alcoa from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Alcoa from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alcoa currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $33.54.

Alcoa Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:AA opened at $36.35 on Monday. Alcoa has a 52 week low of $23.07 and a 52 week high of $38.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.61. The company has a market capitalization of $6.53 billion, a PE ratio of -9.67, a PEG ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 2.47. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $31.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.16.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The industrial products company reported ($0.81) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.62) by ($0.19). Alcoa had a negative return on equity of 8.51% and a negative net margin of 6.41%. The company had revenue of $2.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.23) EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Alcoa will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Alcoa Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 4th. Alcoa’s dividend payout ratio is -10.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Tammi A. Jones sold 26,468 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.78, for a total transaction of $814,685.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 41,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,267,089.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alcoa

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in Alcoa by 3,731.1% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 799,705 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,190,000 after buying an additional 778,831 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Alcoa by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,234,472 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,874,000 after buying an additional 54,876 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Alcoa by 132.2% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 112,082 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,824,000 after buying an additional 63,816 shares during the period. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alcoa in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $227,000. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 90.9% during the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 61,801 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,796,000 after purchasing an additional 29,431 shares during the last quarter.

About Alcoa

Alcoa Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells bauxite, alumina, and aluminum products in the United States, Spain, Australia, Iceland, Norway, Brazil, Canada, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Alumina and Aluminum. It engages in bauxite mining operations; and processes bauxite into alumina and sells it to customers who process it into industrial chemical products, as well as aluminum smelting and casting businesses.