Alcoa Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:AA)

Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders acquired 28,953 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 55% compared to the average volume of 18,632 call options.

Alcoa Price Performance

Shares of Alcoa stock opened at $44.02 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -25.01, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 2.42. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.62. Alcoa has a 12 month low of $23.80 and a 12 month high of $46.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The industrial products company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.34. Alcoa had a negative return on equity of 1.45% and a negative net margin of 2.65%. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($1.14) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Alcoa will post 0.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alcoa Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 29th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 29th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. Alcoa’s payout ratio is presently -22.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AA has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on Alcoa from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Alcoa from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Alcoa from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. B. Riley upgraded shares of Alcoa from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $41.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Alcoa from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.75.

Insider Transactions at Alcoa

In other news, EVP Renato Bacchi sold 23,867 shares of the company’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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 57,317 shares in the company, valued at $2,423,935.93. This represents a 29.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alcoa

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mountaineer Partners Management LLC grew its position in shares of Alcoa by 4,023.0% in the third 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Alcoa by 23.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Alcoa by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,665,106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $265,132,000 after buying an additional 390,930 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Alcoa by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,193,744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $161,838,000 after acquiring an additional 1,239,479 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Alcoa during the 2nd quarter worth $93,061,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.39% of the company’s stock.

About Alcoa

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.