Zacks Research Upgrades Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) to Strong-Buy
by Tristan Rich · The Markets DailyAlto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO – Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.
A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Alto Ingredients from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. HC Wainwright increased their price target on shares of Alto Ingredients from $5.50 to $10.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Alto Ingredients from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alto Ingredients currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $10.00.
View Our Latest Stock Report on ALTO
Alto Ingredients Stock Down 2.5%
Shares of ALTO opened at $5.53 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 3.81 and a quick ratio of 2.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $428.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.95 and a beta of 0.13. Alto Ingredients has a 1 year low of $0.92 and a 1 year high of $5.99. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $4.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.58.
Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.13. The company had revenue of $224.68 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $215.65 million. Alto Ingredients had a net margin of 3.20% and a return on equity of 9.77%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Alto Ingredients will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Insider Activity at Alto Ingredients
In other news, Director Gilbert E. Nathan purchased 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $4.61 per share, for a total transaction of $92,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 769,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,548,506.01. This trade represents a 2.67% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 5.26% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Trading of Alto Ingredients
Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALTO. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Alto Ingredients by 67.9% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,790,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,665,000 after buying an additional 723,996 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alto Ingredients by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,673,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,100,000 after acquiring an additional 149,657 shares during the last quarter. Peapod Lane Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alto Ingredients by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Peapod Lane Capital LLC now owns 1,244,198 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,583,000 after acquiring an additional 9,074 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Alto Ingredients during the 4th quarter valued at $3,324,000. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Alto Ingredients by 590.1% during the 1st quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,000,703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,843,000 after acquiring an additional 855,703 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.
Alto Ingredients Company Profile
Alto Ingredients, Inc (NASDAQ: ALTO) is a diversified producer of alcohol-based products and specialty ingredients for industrial, food, beverage and personal care applications. The company’s core offering centers on ethanol produced for fuel markets, as well as an expanding portfolio of natural and organic alcohols, glycerin and other ingredient solutions. Alto’s product lines serve a range of end markets, including renewable fuels, confectionery, flavorings, cosmetics and sanitizers.
Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Alto Ingredients operates a network of production facilities across the United States.