Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Alcoa's short interest dropped by 28.8% in August, with a total of 11,490,000 shares, reflecting a short-interest ratio of 2.0 days.
• Institutional investors have increased their stakes in Alcoa significantly, with firms like State Street Corp and Dimensional Fund Advisors raising their holdings by 9.8% and 33.9% respectively during recent quarters.
• In its recent earnings report, Alcoa surpassed analyst expectations with $0.39 EPS compared to a forecasted $0.29, and a revenue of $3.02 billion exceeding the projected $2.96 billion.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA - Get Free Report) saw a significant decline in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 11,490,000 shares, adeclineof28.8% from the July 31st total of 16,130,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,890,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days. Based on an average daily volume of 5,890,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Institutional Trading of Alcoa

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Alcoa by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,737,466 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $316,863,000 after buying an additional 959,240 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Alcoa by 33.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,803,086 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $207,490,000 after acquiring an additional 1,721,222 shares in the last quarter. L1 Capital Pty Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 178.8% during the second quarter. L1 Capital Pty Ltd now owns 4,814,342 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $142,071,000 after purchasing an additional 3,087,298 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Alcoa by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,637,897 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $136,898,000 after purchasing an additional 211,141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Alcoa during the second quarter worth approximately $97,933,000.

Alcoa Stock Performance

Alcoa stock traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $31.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,504,167 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,895,629. 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 company has a market capitalization of $8.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.33, a PEG ratio of 0.18 and a beta of 2.26. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $30.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.36. Alcoa has a 12-month low of $21.53 and a 12-month high of $47.77.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The industrial products company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.10. Alcoa had a net margin of 7.86% and a return on equity of 19.18%. The company had revenue of $3.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.16 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Alcoa will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alcoa Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 12th. Alcoa's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on AA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Alcoa from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of Alcoa in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Alcoa from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th. B. Riley decreased their price objective on shares of Alcoa from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Alcoa to $31.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $41.67.

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.

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