Stocks to Watch: Alcoa, Travelzoo

NEW YORK -- Alcoa(AA) , the aluminum giant, posted a surprise quarterly profit.

Alcoa, the first component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average to report its results each quarter, posted first-quarter earnings from continuing operations of $94 million, or 10 cents a share, on revenue of $6.01 billion. The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters was for a loss of 4 cents a share on revenue of $5.77 billion.

The company attributed the better-than-expected results to "strong productivity improvements across all businesses, higher realized prices for aluminum, and improved volume and mix."

Alcoa also reaffirmed its outlook for 7% growth in global aluminum demand in 2012.

Travelzoo(TZOO) , a publisher of travel newsletters and Web sites, is planning to sell itself, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The Internet company is in the process of hiring a financial adviser, the sources said. Travelzoo has a market value of $336.1 million.

Travelzoo's move comes after it received takeover interest from private-equity firms and trade buyers, the sources said, Reuters reported.

The list of potential buyers could include Amazon(AMZN) and Google(GOOG) , said Dan Kurnos, a research analyst at The Benchmark Company.

The sources told Reuters online travel Web site ODIGEO, which is owned by AXA Private Equity and Permira, could also be a likely buyer.

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American International Group(AIG) is planning to jump back into U.S. property investing, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The move is a reversal of a years-long effort to downsize its real-estate business in the wake of the government bailout the insurance giant received in 2008.