Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Short Interest Update

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) was the target of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 7,758,404 shares, a growth of 41.6% from the January 29th total of 5,480,549 shares. Approximately 3.0% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 8,081,548 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.0 days. Based on an average daily volume of 8,081,548 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.0 days. Approximately 3.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alcoa

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Compound Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alcoa during the fourth quarter worth about $306,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Alcoa by 247.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,415,697 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $128,370,000 after acquiring an additional 1,721,280 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Alcoa by 52.5% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 15,720 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $835,000 after acquiring an additional 5,413 shares during the period. Corecam AG bought a new position in Alcoa in the 4th quarter valued at $2,819,000. Finally, Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alcoa during the 4th quarter valued at $275,000. Institutional investors own 82.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AA shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Alcoa in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Alcoa from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Alcoa from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $52.00 price target on shares of Alcoa in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $50.00 price target (up from $45.00) on shares of Alcoa in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alcoa has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.25.

Alcoa Stock Performance

NYSE:AA traded down $1.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $62.00. The stock had a trading volume of 3,980,934 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,963,308. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.65. Alcoa has a twelve month low of $21.53 and a twelve month high of $66.95. The stock has a market cap of $16.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.03 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.45.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $6.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.28 billion. Alcoa had a return on equity of 16.18% and a net margin of 9.12%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.04 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Alcoa will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. Alcoa’s dividend payout ratio is 9.05%.

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.