Alcoa Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:AA)

Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors bought 26,402 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 56% compared to the average volume of 16,919 call options.

Alcoa Stock Down 8.0 %

Shares of NYSE:AA opened at $42.49 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $10.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.14, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 2.44. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Alcoa has a fifty-two week low of $23.80 and a fifty-two week high of $47.77.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The industrial products company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. Alcoa had a negative net margin of 2.65% and a negative return on equity of 1.45%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.14) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alcoa will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 29th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 29th. Alcoa’s dividend payout ratio is currently -22.73%.

Insider Transactions at Alcoa

In related news, EVP Renato Bacchi sold 23,867 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,423,935.93. This represents a 29.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Institutional Trading of Alcoa

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AA. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Alcoa by 15.1% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Alcoa by 12.0% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,222 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $128,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its position in Alcoa by 4.1% during the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 9,114 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $352,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Alcoa by 1.4% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 26,965 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,073,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its position in Alcoa by 15.3% during the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 3,452 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $133,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AA. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Alcoa from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Alcoa from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. B. Riley raised shares of Alcoa from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $41.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Alcoa to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Alcoa from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Alcoa currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.73.

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.