Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) Short Interest Update

Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in 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. Approximately 8.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,270,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alcoa

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alcoa

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AA. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in shares of Alcoa during the first quarter worth about $29,000. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in Alcoa by 4.9% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 9,359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $842,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Alcoa in the first quarter worth approximately $435,000. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can increased its holdings in Alcoa by 8.0% in the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 108,717 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,089,000 after purchasing an additional 8,028 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL bought a new stake in Alcoa in the first quarter worth approximately $242,000.

Alcoa Price Performance

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

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

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. Alcoa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -10.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on AA shares. UBS Group initiated coverage on Alcoa in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $29.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on Alcoa from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Alcoa from $27.00 to $29.50 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Alcoa from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Alcoa from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Three investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.88.

About Alcoa

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.