Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on AA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $50.00 target price (up from $45.00) on shares of Alcoa in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Argus set a $45.00 target price on shares of Alcoa in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Alcoa from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Alcoa from $42.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Alcoa in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.25.

Alcoa Stock Performance

Shares of AA opened at $60.38 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $15.63 billion, a PE ratio of 13.66 and a beta of 1.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $58.32 and a 200-day moving average of $43.63. Alcoa has a one year low of $21.53 and a one year high of $66.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.31. Alcoa had a return on equity of 16.18% and a net margin of 9.12%.The firm had revenue of ($1,130.00) million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.04 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Alcoa will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AA. Mirabella Financial Services LLP lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 39,757,462 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,580,803 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $615,428,000 after buying an additional 462,243 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 721,063 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Alcoa by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,655,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $389,621,000 after buying an additional 349,426 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Alcoa by 211.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,254,017 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $332,338,000 after buying an additional 4,247,559 shares in the last quarter.

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.