Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Rating Increased to Buy at Argus

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) was upgraded by analysts at Argus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $48.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock. Argus’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 14.26% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on AA. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Alcoa from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Alcoa from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Alcoa from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. B. Riley Financial restated a “neutral” rating and set a $41.00 price target on shares of Alcoa in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, B. Riley upgraded shares of Alcoa from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $41.00 to $50.00 in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alcoa presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.75.

Alcoa Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE AA opened at $42.01 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.94. The firm has a market cap of $7.54 billion, a PE ratio of -11.17 and a beta of 2.42. Alcoa has a 1 year low of $23.14 and a 1 year high of $45.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The industrial products company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Alcoa had a negative net margin of 5.14% and a negative return on equity of 7.29%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($1.14) EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Alcoa will post 0.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alcoa

In other Alcoa news, EVP Renato Bacchi sold 23,867 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.29, for a total transaction of $1,009,335.43. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 57,317 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,423,935.93. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alcoa

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Alcoa by 44.8% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,642 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $642,000 after acquiring an additional 5,147 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in shares of Alcoa by 55.6% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 30,005 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,157,000 after acquiring an additional 10,726 shares in the last quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Alcoa by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 7,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 1,265 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Alcoa by 68.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,130 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $352,000 after acquiring an additional 3,724 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its position in Alcoa by 40.9% during the third quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 71,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,762,000 after buying an additional 20,800 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.39% of the company’s stock.

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.