Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Stock Price Up 7.2% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Shares jumped 7.2% to $65.72 on Wednesday, although trading volume was below average (4.55M vs. a 8.04M session average).
• Analysts are mixed: the consensus rating is "Hold" with a consensus price target of $44.45, despite a split of buy/hold/sell recommendations.
• Alcoa beat quarterly EPS estimates ($1.26 vs. $0.95) and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 (annualized $0.40, ~0.6% yield).

Alcoa (NYSE:AA - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 7.2% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $65.65 and last traded at $65.7150. 4,551,436 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 43% from the average session volume of 8,039,121 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.31.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Alcoa from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Alcoa in a report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Alcoa from $42.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Zacks Research cut Alcoa from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an "underweight" rating and set a $50.00 price target (up from $45.00) on shares of Alcoa in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alcoa currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $44.45.

Alcoa Stock Up 8.2%

The business has a 50 day moving average of $60.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.50 billion, a PE ratio of 15.00 and a beta of 1.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.44.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.31. Alcoa had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 9.12%.The firm had revenue of $6.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.04 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Alcoa will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Alcoa Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Alcoa's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.05%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alcoa

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Alcoa during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alcoa during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alcoa by 52,500.0% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 526 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Alcoa in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Horrell Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Alcoa in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000.

Alcoa Company Profile

Alcoa Corporation is a global industry leader in the production and management of aluminum, offering an integrated value chain that spans bauxite mining, alumina refining, primary aluminum smelting and the fabrication of value-added products. The company's operations are organized into segments that include raw material extraction, chemical processing and the manufacture of metal mill products and engineered solutions.

Alcoa's product portfolio serves diverse end markets such as aerospace, automotive, packaging, construction, electrical and industrial applications.

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