Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 14,370,000 shares, an increase of 9.0% from the March 15th total of 13,180,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 6,270,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days. Currently, 8.1% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Transactions at Alcoa

In other news, EVP Tammi A. Jones sold 26,468 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.78, for a total transaction of $814,685.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 41,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,267,089.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alcoa

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AA. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in Alcoa by 3,731.1% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 799,705 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,190,000 after buying an additional 778,831 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Alcoa by 4.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,234,472 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,874,000 after buying an additional 54,876 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Alcoa by 132.2% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 112,082 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,824,000 after buying an additional 63,816 shares during the period. Comerica Bank acquired a new position in Alcoa during the second quarter worth approximately $7,430,000. Finally, Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC acquired a new position in Alcoa during the fourth quarter worth approximately $227,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Alcoa from $27.00 to $29.50 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Bank of America raised their target price on Alcoa from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Alcoa in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a “sell” rating and a $29.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Alcoa from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Alcoa from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.88.

Alcoa Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AA traded down $0.48 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $36.09. 7,126,858 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,105,527. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.74. Alcoa has a twelve month low of $23.07 and a twelve month high of $42.23. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.93.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 17th. The industrial products company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.85) by $0.29. Alcoa had a negative return on equity of 6.56% and a negative net margin of 6.17%. The business had revenue of $2.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.70) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alcoa will post 0.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. Alcoa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -10.96%.

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.