Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Rating Increased to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

Alcoa (NYSE:AA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report released on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $36.50 target price on the industrial products company's stock, up from their prior target price of $28.50. Morgan Stanley's target price suggests a potential upside of 0.41% from the stock's current price.

AA has been the subject of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Alcoa from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. StockNews.com downgraded Alcoa from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Alcoa from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Bank of America lifted their price target on Alcoa from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Alcoa from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alcoa has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $33.54.

Alcoa Stock Up 2.3 %

NYSE:AA traded up $0.82 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $36.35. The company had a trading volume of 7,835,888 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,475,517. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.67, a PEG ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 2.47. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $31.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.16. Alcoa has a 12-month low of $23.07 and a 12-month high of $38.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The industrial products company reported ($0.81) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.62) by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $2.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.55 billion. Alcoa had a negative net margin of 6.41% and a negative return on equity of 8.51%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.23) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alcoa will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Alcoa

In other news, EVP Tammi A. Jones sold 26,468 shares of Alcoa stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.78, for a total transaction of $814,685.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 41,166 shares in the company, valued at $1,267,089.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alcoa

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AA. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in Alcoa by 3,731.1% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 799,705 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $27,190,000 after purchasing an additional 778,831 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Alcoa by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,234,472 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $35,874,000 after purchasing an additional 54,876 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Alcoa by 132.2% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 112,082 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,824,000 after purchasing an additional 63,816 shares during the period. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC acquired a new position in Alcoa during the 4th quarter worth approximately $227,000. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its position in Alcoa by 90.9% during the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 61,801 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,796,000 after purchasing an additional 29,431 shares during the period.

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.