Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Rating Lowered to "Hold" at StockNews.com

Alcoa (NYSE:AA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Thursday.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on AA. B. Riley cut their target price on Alcoa from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Q1 EBITDA beat expectations, Q2 EBITDA estimate raised to 439M from 351M JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Alcoa from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of Alcoa in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Alcoa to $31.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $26.00 price objective (down from $58.00) on shares of Alcoa in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $42.50.

Alcoa Price Performance

NYSE:AA traded down $0.61 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $27.67. 883,071 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,910,117. The business has a 50 day moving average of $27.55 and a 200 day moving average of $34.71. 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 0.48, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $7.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -172.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 2.29.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alcoa

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in Alcoa by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 8,973 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Alcoa by 77.1% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 680 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Alcoa by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 52,624 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,988,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in shares of Alcoa by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 6,521 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Alcoa by 30.7% during the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,470 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.39% of the company's stock.

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.

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