- Alcoa (NYSE:AA) -6.2% premarket after Q4 earnings missed estimates, citing a drought in Brazil that hurt bauxite production and higher power prices in Spain that raised expenses.
- “We have lower than expected global alumina segments due to weather delays and difficulties with shipload,” CEO Roy Harvey said in an earnings conference call, noting the results came in ~$50M lower than the company’s expectations.
- AA said it does not expect U.S tax reforms to have a material impact on 2018 results, and announced plans to freeze its pension.
- But J.P. Morgan's Michael Gambardella keeps his rating at Overweight and raises his price target to $68 from $55, believing AA will start looking to return cash to shareholders as long as alumina and aluminum prices hold, and the stock possibly could be added to the S&P 500 in the next few months.
- Cowen analysts raise their AA price target to $59 from $51 while keeping its rating at Market Perform, but BofA Merrill Lynch trims its target to $63 from $67.
- Now read: Wall Street Breakfast: China's GDP Growth Accelerates Once Again
Original article