Wall Street Zen Downgrades Alcoa (NYSE:AA) to Hold

Alcoa (NYSE:AA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on AA. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on Alcoa to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Alcoa from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and set a $26.00 price objective (down previously from $58.00) on shares of Alcoa in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of Alcoa in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, B. Riley lowered their price target on Alcoa from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Q1 EBITDA beat expectations, Q2 EBITDA estimate raised to 439M from 351M One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Alcoa currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $42.33.

Alcoa Stock Performance

NYSE:AA traded down $0.62 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $28.18. The stock had a trading volume of 3,765,918 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,596,906. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.49, a PEG ratio of 0.16 and a beta of 2.26. Alcoa has a 1-year low of $21.53 and a 1-year high of $47.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $27.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.90.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The industrial products company reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $3.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.58 billion. Alcoa had a return on equity of 18.56% and a net margin of 6.79%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Alcoa will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alcoa

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Alcoa in the fourth quarter valued at $259,273,000. L1 Capital Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Alcoa in the 1st quarter worth about $52,675,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Alcoa by 33.9% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,803,086 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $207,490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,721,222 shares in the last quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC lifted its holdings in Alcoa by 319.1% during the 4th quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC now owns 1,978,009 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $74,729,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506,009 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Alcoa by 46.8% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.39% of the company's stock.

Alcoa Company 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.