Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) Upgraded at Benchmark

Benchmark upgraded shares of Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Zacks reports.

ALTO has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Scotiabank set a $10.00 price target on shares of Alto Ingredients in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Alto Ingredients in a report on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research lowered Alto Ingredients from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alto Ingredients in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alto Ingredients currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $10.00.

Alto Ingredients Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of ALTO stock opened at $3.77 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.19, a quick ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Alto Ingredients has a twelve month low of $0.99 and a twelve month high of $6.11. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $4.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.75. The stock has a market cap of $292.44 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.14.

Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.07. Alto Ingredients had a net margin of 5.51% and a return on equity of 18.54%. The firm had revenue of $245.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $231.24 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alto Ingredients will post 0.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Alto Ingredients

In related news, Director Gilbert Nathan bought 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $4.15 per share, for a total transaction of $207,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 856,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,554,030.95. This trade represents a 6.20% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 4.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alto Ingredients

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Alto Ingredients in the second quarter worth approximately $31,322,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Alto Ingredients by 590.1% in 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 last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Alto Ingredients in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,878,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Alto Ingredients by 67.9% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,790,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,665,000 after purchasing an additional 723,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Alto Ingredients by 1,441.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 550,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,663,000 after purchasing an additional 514,600 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Alto Ingredients Company Profile

Alto Ingredients, Inc is a renewable fuels and specialty alcohols company that produces and markets low-carbon ethanol and related products. Its offerings are used as transportation fuel, fuel additives, industrial and beverage alcohol, and in other commercial applications.

The company also produces co-products from its ethanol manufacturing operations, including distillers grains used as animal feed and corn oil used in feed, fuel and industrial markets. Alto Ingredients has pursued opportunities to develop lower-carbon products and improve the value of its agricultural and renewable fuel operations.

Previously known as Pacific Ethanol, the company adopted the Alto Ingredients name in 2020 to reflect its broader focus beyond conventional ethanol production.