Alcoa Inc (NYSE:AA) will kick off the Q1 earnings season as the company is scheduled to report its first quarter earnings on Tuesday, April 8 after the bell. The company will hold a conference call beginning at 5:00 p.m. EDT. You can access the conference call via its website. Shares of the aluminum producer have gained about 64% from their October 2013 low of $7.82 as commodity prices rallied in early 2014. Though Wall Street is warming up to better pricing environments, most analysts and investors have maintained a ‘wait-and-see’ attitude.
Alcoa gets an upgrade from Deutsche Bank ahead of earnings
Analysts polled by FactSet expect Alcoa Inc (NYSE:AA) to earn 5 cents a share in the first quarter, down 54% from 11 cents in the same quarter last year. Its sales are expected to slip 4.2% YoY to $5.59 billion from $5.83 billion last year. The Wall Street earnings consensus has increased by one penny over the last month. Six analysts have increased their Q1 earnings forecast over the past few weeks.
For the full year 2014, analysts forecast 37 cents in EPS and $23.05 billion in revenues. During the December 2013 quarter, Alcoa Inc (NYSE:AA) reported 4 cents in earnings, and better-than-expected $5.6 billion in sales despite a 7% decline in realized aluminum prices. The Pittsburgh-based company got a boost ahead of earnings when Deutsche Bank analyst Jorge Beristain increased the price target from $7.50 to $10, while upgrading the stock from Sell to Hold. Beristain said yesterday that the recovery in aluminum prices should benefit the company in the foreseeable future, but downside risk still persists.
Alcoa management optimistic about the Ultra One truck wheel
In March, Alcoa Inc (NYSE:AA) management unveiled a new Ultra One truck wheel. It will be the world’s lightest heavy-duty truck wheel. The company said it will be 47% lighter than the steel wheel of the same size. Alcoa shares spiked about 6% on the news. The company has been optimistic about this business as the automobile industry rebounds.
Alcoa Inc (NYSE:AA) stock went up 1% to $12.60 at 12:22 PM EDT on Tuesday.
