Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.13 EPS

Key Points

• Alcoa reported a quarterly loss of ($0.02) EPS, significantly missing analysts' expectations of $0.54, indicating challenges in their financial performance.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, yielding 1.1% annually, reflecting a low payout ratio of 10.44%.
• Multiple analysts have upgraded Alcoa's rating, with target prices now ranging from $40.00 to $42.50, signaling increased bullish sentiment for the stock.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The industrial products company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.13, Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. Alcoa had a return on equity of 19.18% and a net margin of 7.86%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.57 earnings per share.

Alcoa Price Performance

Shares of AA stock opened at $35.50 on Thursday. Alcoa has a fifty-two week low of $21.53 and a fifty-two week high of $47.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.27, a PEG ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 2.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.65. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $33.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.78.

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Alcoa's payout ratio is presently 10.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on AA. HSBC lifted their price objective on Alcoa from $33.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Alcoa from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Alcoa from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Alcoa in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Alcoa to a "buy" rating and set a $42.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $42.46.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alcoa

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AA. State Street Corp boosted its position in Alcoa by 9.8% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,737,466 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $316,863,000 after buying an additional 959,240 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Alcoa in the second quarter valued at approximately $21,493,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Alcoa by 39.5% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,053,110 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $30,951,000 after buying an additional 298,364 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. purchased a new stake in Alcoa in the second quarter valued at approximately $7,331,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Alcoa by 320.1% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 269,982 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $7,967,000 after buying an additional 205,717 shares during the last quarter.

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.