Shares of Alcoa shot up 5.5% in premarket trading Friday, after the aluminum company reported third-quarter record net profit and sales that beat expectations, said it was initiating a cash dividend and set a new $500 million stock repurchase program. The company said late Thursday revenue growth was driven by higher aluminum and alumina prices, and higher premiums for value-add products. The new quarterly cash dividend of 10 cents a share will be payable Nov. 19 to shareholders of record on Oct. 29. Based on Thursday’s stock closing price of $48.60, the annual dividend rate implies a dividend yield of 0.82%, compared with the implied yield for the S&P 500 of 1.36%. And the new stock buyback program represents 5.5% of Alcoa’s market capitalization as of Thursday’s close. The stock, which is on track to open just shy of the Sept. 15 three-year closing high of $51.68, has more than doubled (up 110.9%) year to date through Thursday, while the S&P 500 has gained 18.2%.
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