Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Alcoa (NYSE:AA)

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) saw some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Traders purchased 28,024 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 72% compared to the typical daily volume of 16,268 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on AA. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Alcoa in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Alcoa from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Bank of America cut their target price on Alcoa from $57.00 to $51.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Alcoa from $71.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Alcoa from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.42.

Alcoa Price Performance

AA stock traded up $1.89 during trading on Monday, hitting $43.84. The company had a trading volume of 2,285,289 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,874,881. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.74. The business has a 50 day moving average of $47.71 and a 200 day moving average of $57.23. Alcoa has a fifty-two week low of $33.77 and a fifty-two week high of $84.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The industrial products company reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.25 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.99 billion. Alcoa had a net margin of 9.48% and a return on equity of 18.90%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.39 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Alcoa will post 6.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Alcoa’s payout ratio is presently 8.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alcoa

In other Alcoa news, EVP Renato Bacchi sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.02, for a total value of $35,714.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 74,930 shares in the company, valued at $3,822,928.60. The trade was a 0.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Tammi Jones sold 15,628 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.60, for a total value of $790,776.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,841.40. This trade represents a 28.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alcoa

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Alcoa during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in Alcoa by 5,281.8% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 592 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Alcoa in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Alcoa by 83.2% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 872 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Alcoa during the 2nd quarter valued at about $52,000.

Alcoa Company Profile

Alcoa Corporation (NYSE:AA) is a global producer of aluminum and an integrated participant in the aluminum industry. Its operations span the value chain from bauxite mining and alumina refining to aluminum smelting, casting and recycling.

The company supplies aluminum products used in transportation, building and construction, packaging, aerospace, automotive, electrical and other industrial applications. Its portfolio includes primary aluminum, alumina, aluminum billets and other cast products, as well as low-carbon and recycled aluminum offerings.

Alcoa traces its origins to the Pittsburgh Reduction Company, founded in 1888, and has helped develop the modern aluminum industry.