Encompass Capital Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA)

Encompass Capital Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA - Free Report) by 55.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 955,506 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,193,384 shares during the period. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC owned 0.37% of Alcoa worth $36,099,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AA. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Alcoa in the fourth quarter valued at $259,273,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Alcoa by 46.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,549,608 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $96,324,000 after purchasing an additional 813,214 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP increased its stake in Alcoa by 29.6% in the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 2,998,311 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $113,276,000 after purchasing an additional 684,505 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Alcoa by 488.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 802,547 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $30,320,000 after purchasing an additional 666,117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Alcoa by 96.1% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,065,125 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $40,240,000 after purchasing an additional 522,039 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.39% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Alcoa to $43.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Alcoa from $55.00 to $51.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of Alcoa to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Alcoa from $47.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Bank of America reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $26.00 target price (down from $58.00) on shares of Alcoa in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Alcoa has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $44.17.

Alcoa Stock Up 0.7%

Alcoa stock traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $25.89. 6,133,063 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,456,785. Alcoa Co. has a 52-week low of $21.53 and a 52-week high of $47.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -161.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 2.29. The business's 50-day moving average price is $28.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The industrial products company reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.42. Alcoa had a net margin of 0.50% and a return on equity of 5.54%. The business had revenue of $3.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.58 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Alcoa Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alcoa Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. Alcoa's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.05%.

Alcoa Profile

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.