Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Shares Gap Down to $36.35

Shares of Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $36.35, but opened at $35.00. Alcoa shares last traded at $36.28, with a volume of 1,490,966 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised Alcoa from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $28.50 to $36.50 in a research report on Monday. Bank of America increased their price target on Alcoa from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Alcoa from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Alcoa from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Alcoa from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Alcoa presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.54.

Alcoa Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $31.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market cap of $6.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 2.47.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The industrial products company reported ($0.81) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the business earned ($0.23) EPS. Alcoa’s revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Alcoa Co. will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. Alcoa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -10.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alcoa news, EVP Tammi A. Jones sold 26,468 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.78, for a total value of $814,685.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 41,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,267,089.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alcoa

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Alcoa during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,557,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Alcoa during the 4th quarter worth about $45,730,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Alcoa by 34.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,312,340 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $146,626,000 after buying an additional 1,104,423 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its holdings in Alcoa by 202.2% during the 1st quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 1,491,544 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $50,399,000 after buying an additional 997,912 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in Alcoa by 3,731.1% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 799,705 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,190,000 after buying an additional 778,831 shares during the period.

Alcoa Company Profile

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.