Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) Short Interest Update

Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,090,000 shares, an increase of 10.3% from the January 15th total of 8,240,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,590,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Institutional Trading of Alcoa

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AA. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Alcoa by 481.7% during the 3rd 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 purchased a new stake in Alcoa in the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its position in Alcoa by 1,945.5% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,125 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 1,070 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Alcoa by 399.0% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,447 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 1,157 shares during the period. Finally, Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new stake in Alcoa in the 3rd quarter valued at about $89,000.

Alcoa Stock Down 3.4 %

Shares of AA stock opened at $34.12 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.50. Alcoa has a 52 week low of $24.86 and a 52 week high of $47.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market cap of $8.82 billion, a P/E ratio of -213.26, a PEG ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 2.43.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.13. Alcoa had a net margin of 0.50% and a return on equity of 5.54%. Analysts predict that Alcoa will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. B. Riley raised shares of Alcoa to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Alcoa from $55.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Alcoa from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Argus upgraded shares of Alcoa from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Alcoa to $43.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alcoa has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.55.

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.