Short Interest in Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) Increases By 9.0%

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

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Alcoa

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in shares of Alcoa in the first quarter worth $29,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Alcoa in the second quarter worth $27,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alcoa in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alcoa in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in Alcoa during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000.

Alcoa Stock Up 3.9 %

Shares of Alcoa stock traded up $1.37 on Monday, reaching $36.57. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,911,616 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,269,014. The company has a market capitalization of $6.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 2.47. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.82. Alcoa has a 52 week low of $23.07 and a 52 week high of $42.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 17th. The industrial products company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.85) by $0.29. The business had revenue of $2.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.59 billion. Alcoa had a negative return on equity of 6.56% and a negative net margin of 6.17%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.70) EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Alcoa will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Alcoa Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 4th. Alcoa’s payout ratio is -10.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on AA. Bank of America raised their price target on Alcoa from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. UBS Group began coverage on Alcoa in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a “sell” rating and a $29.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Alcoa from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Alcoa from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alcoa currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.