Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Upgraded to “Equal Weight” by Morgan Stanley

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) was upgraded by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Briefing.com reports. The firm presently has a $36.50 price target on the industrial products company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $28.50. Morgan Stanley’s target price points to a potential upside of 2.73% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Alcoa from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Alcoa from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Alcoa from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Alcoa from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, B. Riley raised their price objective on shares of Alcoa from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.54.

Alcoa Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:AA opened at $35.53 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $31.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.09. The stock has a market cap of $6.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 2.47. Alcoa has a fifty-two week low of $23.07 and a fifty-two week high of $42.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The industrial products company reported ($0.81) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.62) by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $2.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.55 billion. Alcoa had a negative net margin of 6.41% and a negative return on equity of 8.51%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.23) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alcoa will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Alcoa

In related news, EVP Tammi A. Jones sold 26,468 shares of Alcoa stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.78, for a total value of $814,685.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 41,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,267,089.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alcoa

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AA. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in Alcoa in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new stake in Alcoa in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in Alcoa in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alcoa during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alcoa during the 4th quarter worth $33,000.

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.