Van ECK Associates Corp Buys 82,073 Shares of Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA)

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) by 43.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 271,276 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 82,073 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.15% of Alcoa worth $11,361,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AA. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd bought a new stake in Alcoa in the 2nd quarter valued at $93,061,000. L1 Capital Pty Ltd bought a new position in shares of Alcoa during the 1st quarter worth about $72,658,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 770.9% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,422,797 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $56,599,000 after acquiring an additional 1,259,430 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 29.8% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,067,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $69,869,000 after acquiring an additional 475,000 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 43.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,478,424 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $49,958,000 after acquiring an additional 444,393 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on AA. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Alcoa from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. B. Riley raised shares of Alcoa from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $41.00 to $50.00 in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Argus raised shares of Alcoa from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Alcoa from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $41.00 price target on shares of Alcoa in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.75.

Alcoa Price Performance

AA stock opened at $42.78 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $36.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.19. The stock has a market cap of $11.05 billion, a PE ratio of -24.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 2.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Alcoa Co. has a 1 year low of $23.80 and a 1 year high of $45.48.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The industrial products company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. Alcoa had a negative return on equity of 1.45% and a negative net margin of 2.65%. The company’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($1.14) EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Alcoa Co. will post 0.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alcoa Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 29th. Alcoa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -22.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Renato Bacchi sold 23,867 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.29, for a total value of $1,009,335.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,317 shares in the company, valued at $2,423,935.93. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Alcoa 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.