Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Stock Sees Unusually High Call Option Buying

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) saw unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors acquired 27,444 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 65% compared to the typical volume of 16,601 call options.

Alcoa Stock Performance

NYSE:AA traded up $0.66 on Monday, hitting $38.56. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,902,755 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,845,535. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $45.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.74. Alcoa has a one year low of $35.12 and a one year high of $84.38.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 15th. The industrial products company reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.31. Alcoa had a return on equity of 24.58% and a net margin of 10.77%. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Alcoa will post 6.70 earnings per share for the current year.

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 27th will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 27th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Alcoa’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Renato Bacchi sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.02, for a total transaction of $35,714.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 74,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,822,928.60. This represents a 0.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Tammi A. Jones sold 15,628 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.60, for a total transaction of $790,776.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,014,841.40. This trade represents a 28.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Alcoa in the second quarter worth $1,179,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alcoa during the 2nd quarter worth $1,528,523,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Alcoa by 3,061.2% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 63,098 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,185,000 after acquiring an additional 61,102 shares during the last quarter. XY Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Alcoa during the first quarter worth about $1,662,000. Finally, Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new position in Alcoa during the first quarter worth about $1,613,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on AA. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Alcoa from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Alcoa from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Alcoa from $53.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Alcoa from $57.00 to $51.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on Alcoa in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $58.23.

Alcoa Company Profile

Alcoa Corporation (NYSE:AA) is a global producer of bauxite, alumina and aluminum. Its operations span the aluminum value chain, including bauxite mining, alumina refining, aluminum smelting, casting and the production of value-added aluminum products. These materials serve customers in industries such as transportation, building and construction, packaging, aerospace and industrial manufacturing.

The company operates across multiple regions, with assets and activities in North America, South America, Europe, Australia and other international markets.