Alcoa Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:AA)

Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 28,620 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 53% compared to the average daily volume of 18,647 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alcoa

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Alcoa by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 8,973 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 52,624 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,988,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 6,521 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,469 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Alcoa to $43.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. B. Riley upgraded Alcoa to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Alcoa from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Alcoa from $55.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Four 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.55.

Alcoa Stock Performance

AA stock opened at $37.26 on Friday. Alcoa has a 12-month low of $24.86 and a 12-month high of $47.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The business has a 50 day moving average of $37.02 and a 200-day moving average of $37.76. The firm has a market cap of $9.63 billion, a PE ratio of -232.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 2.43.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last posted its 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Alcoa will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Alcoa Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. Alcoa’s dividend payout ratio is currently -250.00%.

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.