QSM Asset Management Ltd Invests $4.78 Million in Alcoa $AA

Key Points

• QSM Asset Management Ltd purchased 90,000 shares of Alcoa in Q4 (about $4.78 million), making the position roughly 2.7% of its portfolio and its 15th-largest holding.
• Reports of Middle East supply disruptions (Iranian strikes on regional smelters) have lifted aluminum prices, driving bullish flows into Alcoa—seen in above‑average call‑option activity and the stock leading the sector rally.
• Analyst views are mixed—four Buys, seven Holds and one Sell—resulting in a MarketBeat consensus of "Hold" with a $50.45 price target, despite a recent quarterly EPS beat and a modest dividend.

QSM Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in Alcoa (NYSE:AA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 90,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $4,783,000. Alcoa comprises 2.7% of QSM Asset Management Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its position in Alcoa by 74.1% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 557 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 1.5% in the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 22,497 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $740,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the period. Lesa Sroufe & Co boosted its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 0.5% in the third quarter. Lesa Sroufe & Co now owns 75,504 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,483,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Alcoa by 3.2% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,581 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $381,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in shares of Alcoa by 4.0% during the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 11,617 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $343,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares during the last quarter.

Key Headlines Impacting Alcoa

Here are the key news stories impacting Alcoa this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Middle East supply disruption lifts aluminum prices and benefits producers — Reports that Iranian strikes hit major Gulf aluminum smelters (including Emirates Global Aluminium and Aluminium Bahrain) tightened near‑term supply expectations and pushed benchmark aluminum futures higher, a direct tailwind for primary producers like Alcoa. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Broad market reporting and trade coverage show Alcoa leading the sector rally — Multiple news outlets highlighted Alcoa as one of the top movers after the strikes, amplifying buying interest from momentum and sector‐rotation flows. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual bullish options activity — Traders bought an above‑average number of AA call options (about 34,555 contracts, ~38% above the usual daily call volume), indicating directional bullish positioning that can accelerate intraday moves.
• Neutral Sentiment: Alcoa’s earnings sensitivity to aluminum prices keeps the stock reactive — Analysts and research notes point out that stronger realized prices can quickly improve margins and EPS, which increases volatility around commodity moves (investors are watching upcoming releases). Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Wider market context (oil, bonds, macro calendar) may modulate the rally — Energy and macro headlines are keeping markets on edge into payrolls and holiday weeks, so momentum could fade or strengthen with macro newsflow. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Geopolitical escalation risk and supply-chain disruption remain downsides — While higher aluminum prices boost margins, prolonged conflict or logistics disruption could create operational, cost or demand problems and increase share‑price volatility. Article Title

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on AA. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $52.00 price target on shares of Alcoa in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Alcoa in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Alcoa from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $50.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Zacks Research cut shares of Alcoa from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alcoa in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $50.45.

Alcoa Price Performance

Alcoa stock opened at $63.13 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.20. Alcoa has a 12 month low of $21.53 and a 12 month high of $68.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.66 billion, a PE ratio of 14.28 and a beta of 1.85.

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

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. Alcoa's payout ratio is 9.05%.

Alcoa 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Alcoa (NYSE:AA - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.