Alcoa’s (AA) shares have gained substantially over the year, and Wall Street analysts see a more than 15% upside in the stock. The company recently announced its plans to restart two of its aluminum smelting plants, potentially increasing its operating capacity to 82% globally. Given the growing demand for aluminum and analysts' expectations of high metal prices, is AA an attractive investment? Read on to learn our view. Alcoa Corporation (NYSE:AA) produces and sells bauxite, alumina, and aluminum products in the United States, Spain, Australia, Brazil, Canada, and internationally. Fitch Ratings recently has upgraded AA’s long-term issuer default ratings to 'BBB-' from 'BB+,' citing AA’s modest debt level and reduced pension obligation, its flexibility in operations, and stable position in the industry. AA is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pa.
AA shares have gained 108.5% in price over the past year and 110.7% year-to-date. Over the past five days, the stock has gained 10.2% to close yesterday’s trading session at $49.98. It is currently trading below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. The 12-month median price target of $59.40 indicates a potential 18.9% upside from its last closing price.
Last month, AA announced the restarting of its smelting capacity at its Portland Aluminum smelter in Australia. The smelter will be operating at 95% capacity. AA also intends to resume using its Alumar smelter in Brazil. “Restarting the idle capacity improves the smelter’s cost structure, competitiveness, and longer-term sustainability,” explained Michael Gollschewski, Alcoa’s vice president of operations and president of Alcoa Australia. With the restarting of both the facilities, AA will be operating at 82% of its global smelting capacity.