Bank of America Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Stock

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) had its target price boosted by Bank of America to $58.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Stock Target Advisor reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on AA. Argus upgraded Alcoa from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Alcoa from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Alcoa from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. B. Riley raised Alcoa from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $41.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Alcoa from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.25.

Alcoa Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AA opened at $46.43 on Thursday. Alcoa has a 12-month low of $23.80 and a 12-month high of $47.77. The company has a market cap of $12.00 billion, a PE ratio of -26.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 2.42. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The industrial products company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.34. Alcoa had a negative return on equity of 1.45% and a negative net margin of 2.65%. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($1.14) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Alcoa will post 0.9 EPS for the current year.

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 29th. Alcoa’s dividend payout ratio is currently -22.73%.

Insider Transactions at Alcoa

In other Alcoa news, EVP Renato Bacchi sold 23,867 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.29, for a total transaction of $1,009,335.43. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,317 shares in the company, valued at $2,423,935.93. This trade represents a 29.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in Alcoa in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Alcoa by 481.7% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 762 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Alcoa in the third quarter worth about $43,000. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Alcoa by 1,945.5% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,125 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070 shares during the period. Finally, Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new position in shares of Alcoa during the 3rd quarter worth about $89,000.

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.