Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Alcoa (NYSE:AA)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $70.35 and last traded at $70.2670, with a volume of 3907387 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $66.33.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Alcoa from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $50.00 to $68.00 in a report on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Alcoa in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Alcoa from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. UBS Group boosted their price target on Alcoa from $48.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Alcoa from $54.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.45.

Alcoa Stock Up 7.6%

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.44. The stock has a market cap of $18.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.15 and a beta of 1.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.44.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.31. Alcoa had a net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The company had revenue of $6.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.28 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.04 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Alcoa will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alcoa Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. Alcoa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.05%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alcoa

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alcoa during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in shares of Alcoa in the third quarter worth $27,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Alcoa by 52,500.0% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 526 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Alcoa in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its position in Alcoa by 74.1% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 557 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. 82.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alcoa Company Profile

Alcoa Corporation is a global industry leader in the production and management of aluminum, offering an integrated value chain that spans bauxite mining, alumina refining, primary aluminum smelting and the fabrication of value-added products. The company’s operations are organized into segments that include raw material extraction, chemical processing and the manufacture of metal mill products and engineered solutions.

Alcoa’s product portfolio serves diverse end markets such as aerospace, automotive, packaging, construction, electrical and industrial applications.