Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Lifted to Buy at Argus

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) was upgraded by stock analysts at Argus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $48.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock. Argus’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 14.29% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. B. Riley upgraded shares of Alcoa from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $41.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Alcoa from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Alcoa from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Alcoa from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Alcoa from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alcoa has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.75.

Alcoa Price Performance

AA opened at $42.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $7.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.17 and a beta of 2.42. Alcoa has a fifty-two week low of $23.07 and a fifty-two week high of $45.48. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $35.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The industrial products company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Alcoa had a negative net margin of 5.14% and a negative return on equity of 7.29%. Alcoa’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($1.14) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Alcoa will post 0.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Alcoa

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Alcoa by 15.1% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Alcoa by 12.0% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,222 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Alcoa by 1.4% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 26,965 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,073,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co lifted its stake in Alcoa by 5.7% during the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 7,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in Alcoa by 19.5% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,651 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. 82.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.