Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) Short Interest Up 34.4% in February

Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,420,000 shares, a growth of 34.4% from the January 31st total of 8,500,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,600,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alcoa

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AA. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alcoa by 77.1% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 680 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Alcoa in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Alcoa during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Alcoa by 59.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Alcoa in the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.39% of the company’s stock.

Alcoa Price Performance

Alcoa stock traded up $1.23 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $32.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,516,775 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,339,564. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market cap of $8.38 billion, a PE ratio of -202.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 2.43. Alcoa has a 52 week low of $26.90 and a 52 week high of $47.77. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $36.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.01.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.13. Alcoa had a net margin of 0.50% and a return on equity of 5.54%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Alcoa will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. Alcoa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -250.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on AA. B. Riley raised shares of Alcoa to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Alcoa from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Alcoa to $43.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America increased their target price on Alcoa to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Alcoa from $55.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.55.

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.