Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Zacks Research

Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on ALTO. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Alto Ingredients from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Alto Ingredients from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of Alto Ingredients from $5.50 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.00.

Alto Ingredients Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of ALTO stock opened at $5.65 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $437.82 million, a P/E ratio of 15.27 and a beta of 0.13. Alto Ingredients has a fifty-two week low of $0.92 and a fifty-two week high of $6.11. The company has a quick ratio of 2.54, a current ratio of 3.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.13. Alto Ingredients had a net margin of 3.20% and a return on equity of 9.77%. The firm had revenue of $224.68 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $215.65 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Alto Ingredients will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Alto Ingredients

In related news, Director Gilbert E. Nathan acquired 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $4.61 per share, for a total transaction of $92,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 769,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,548,506.01. This represents a 2.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 4.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ALTO. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 723,996 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Alto Ingredients by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,673,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,100,000 after purchasing an additional 149,657 shares during the period. Peapod Lane Capital LLC grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 9,074 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Alto Ingredients during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,324,000. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 855,703 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Alto Ingredients

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.