Investors Purchase High Volume of Alcoa Call Options (NYSE:AA)

Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Investors purchased 28,953 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 55% compared to the typical volume of 18,632 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AA. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Alcoa from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wolfe Research upgraded Alcoa from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Alcoa from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $43.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. UBS Group boosted their target price on Alcoa from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research 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 research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.75.

Insider Activity at Alcoa

In other news, EVP Renato Bacchi sold 23,867 shares of Alcoa 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,423,935.93. The trade was a 29.40 % 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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AA. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alcoa during the second quarter worth $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 481.7% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 762 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 631 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in shares of Alcoa by 1,501.9% in the first quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 1,698 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 1,592 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Alcoa by 15.1% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares during the period. Finally, William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Alcoa during the second quarter worth about $102,000.

Alcoa Stock Up 8.8 %

Shares of AA traded up $3.62 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $44.83. The company had a trading volume of 7,195,656 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,852,661. Alcoa has a one year low of $23.80 and a one year high of $46.55. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $38.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.56. The company has a market capitalization of $11.58 billion, a PE ratio of -25.36, 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 (NYSE:AA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The industrial products company reported $0.57 earnings per share 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($1.14) EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Alcoa will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alcoa Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 29th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. Alcoa’s dividend payout ratio is currently -22.73%.

Alcoa Company 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.