Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) Short Interest Up 34.4% in February

Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,420,000 shares, a growth of 34.4% from the January 31st total of 8,500,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,600,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alcoa

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Alcoa by 77.1% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 680 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Alcoa during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Alcoa during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alcoa by 59.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Alcoa during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.39% of the company’s stock.

Alcoa Stock Performance

Shares of AA stock opened at $31.33 on Tuesday. Alcoa has a 52-week low of $26.57 and a 52-week high of $47.77. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $36.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.11 billion, a PE ratio of -195.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 2.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Alcoa will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. Alcoa’s dividend payout ratio is presently -250.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on AA. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price 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 lifted their target price on Alcoa to $43.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Alcoa from $55.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Alcoa from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Alcoa to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.55.

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.