Merit Financial Group LLC Buys New Holdings in Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA)

Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 7,110 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $217,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Alcoa by 77.1% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 680 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 52,624 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,988,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in Alcoa by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 6,521 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $246,000 after buying an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its stake in Alcoa by 30.7% in the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,470 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in Alcoa by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 6,569 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.39% of the company’s stock.

Alcoa Price Performance

Shares of AA stock opened at $28.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.94. Alcoa Co. has a one year low of $21.53 and a one year high of $47.77. The company has a market capitalization of $7.47 billion, a P/E ratio of -180.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 2.27.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The industrial products company reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $3.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.58 billion. Alcoa had a net margin of 0.50% and a return on equity of 5.54%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alcoa Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. Alcoa’s payout ratio is 12.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. HC Wainwright raised their price target on shares of Alcoa to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target (down previously from $58.00) on shares of Alcoa in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Alcoa from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Alcoa in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Alcoa from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alcoa has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.50.

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.