AlphaQuest LLC Sells 19,370 Shares of Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA)

AlphaQuest LLC lowered its holdings in Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) by 76.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,934 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 19,370 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Alcoa were worth $224,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mountaineer Partners Management LLC increased its position in Alcoa by 4,023.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mountaineer Partners Management LLC now owns 10,795,880 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $416,505,000 after purchasing an additional 10,534,036 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Alcoa by 23.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,563,645 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $368,965,000 after buying an additional 1,805,915 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Alcoa by 42.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,193,744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $161,838,000 after buying an additional 1,239,479 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its position in Alcoa by 29.6% during the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 2,998,311 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $113,276,000 after acquiring an additional 684,505 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,550,861 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $96,372,000 after acquiring an additional 192,078 shares during the period. 82.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Alcoa from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Alcoa to $43.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. HC Wainwright raised their price target on Alcoa to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Alcoa from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Alcoa to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.17.

Alcoa Price Performance

Shares of AA opened at $33.56 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.91. The firm has a market cap of $8.69 billion, a PE ratio of -209.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 2.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Alcoa Co. has a 1-year low of $27.12 and a 1-year high of $47.77.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.13. Alcoa had a return on equity of 5.54% and a net margin of 0.50%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Alcoa Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. Alcoa’s dividend payout ratio is currently -250.00%.

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.