Treasurer of the State of North Carolina Trims Stock Position in Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA)

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina cut its holdings in Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 108,488 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 990 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina’s holdings in Alcoa were worth $4,099,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Scotia Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alcoa during the fourth quarter valued at about $222,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alcoa by 77.1% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 680 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Alcoa in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,639,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Alcoa in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,829,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Alcoa by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 388,196 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,666,000 after purchasing an additional 2,760 shares in the last quarter. 82.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AA has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Alcoa to $43.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Alcoa from $55.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Alcoa from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective (down previously from $58.00) on shares of Alcoa in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, B. Riley upgraded shares of Alcoa to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.00.

Alcoa Price Performance

AA stock opened at $24.67 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $31.82 and a 200-day moving average of $37.25. The company has a market cap of $6.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -154.16, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 2.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Alcoa Co. has a 12-month low of $21.53 and a 12-month high of $47.77.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.13. Alcoa had a return on equity of 5.54% and a net margin of 0.50%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Alcoa Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. Alcoa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -250.00%.

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.