Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) Short Interest Update

Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,090,000 shares, an increase of 10.3% from the January 15th total of 8,240,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,590,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Institutional Trading of Alcoa

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Alcoa by 481.7% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 762 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 631 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Alcoa during the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its stake in Alcoa by 1,945.5% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,125 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 399.0% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,447 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Alcoa during the 3rd quarter valued at $89,000.

Alcoa Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AA opened at $36.27 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $38.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -226.66, a PEG ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 2.43. Alcoa has a one year low of $24.86 and a one year high of $47.77.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.13. Alcoa had a return on equity of 5.54% and a net margin of 0.50%. Analysts forecast that Alcoa will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Alcoa from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Alcoa to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Alcoa from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Alcoa from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Argus upgraded Alcoa from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.