Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Friday.

AA has been the topic of a number of other reports. B. Riley raised their target price on Alcoa from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Alcoa from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Alcoa from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Alcoa from $27.00 to $29.50 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Alcoa from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alcoa has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.96.

Alcoa Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AA traded up $0.06 during trading on Friday, reaching $35.53. 8,014,809 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,457,585. Alcoa has a fifty-two week low of $23.07 and a fifty-two week high of $42.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market cap of $6.38 billion, a PE ratio of -9.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 2.47. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.06.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The industrial products company reported ($0.81) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.62) by ($0.19). Alcoa had a negative net margin of 6.41% and a negative return on equity of 8.30%. The business had revenue of $2.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.23) earnings per share. Alcoa’s revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Alcoa will post 0.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Tammi A. Jones sold 26,468 shares of Alcoa stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,267,089.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Institutional Trading of Alcoa

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its position in Alcoa by 2.2% in the first quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 8,748 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $788,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in Alcoa by 0.6% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 48,391 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,206,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the period. State of Wisconsin Investment Board raised its position in Alcoa by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. State of Wisconsin Investment Board now owns 90,102 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,097,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in shares of Alcoa in the first quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alcoa by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 26,485 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $900,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares in the last quarter.

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.