Alta Equipment Group Inc. (NYSE:ALTG) Short Interest Update

Alta Equipment Group Inc. (NYSE:ALTG) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,740,000 shares, a decline of 5.4% from the March 15th total of 1,840,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 328,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.3 days. Approximately 7.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALTG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective (down previously from $25.00) on shares of Alta Equipment Group in a research note on Friday, March 15th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Alta Equipment Group in a research note on Friday, March 15th.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder B. Riley Financial, Inc. sold 2,757,308 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.00, for a total transaction of $30,330,388.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 211,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,322,925. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Alta Equipment Group news, major shareholder B. Riley Financial, Inc. sold 2,757,308 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.00, for a total value of $30,330,388.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 211,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,322,925. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Voss Capital, Llc purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was bought at an average price of $10.82 per share, for a total transaction of $108,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 160,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,731,200. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,816,886 shares of company stock worth $31,011,780. Company insiders own 20.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alta Equipment Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Alta Equipment Group by 5.2% in the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,608 shares of the company’s stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 1,067 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in Alta Equipment Group by 17.2% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 11,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,000 after buying an additional 1,636 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alta Equipment Group by 2.0% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 88,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $792,000 after acquiring an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Alta Equipment Group by 7.0% in the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 27,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $331,000 after acquiring an additional 1,787 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Alta Equipment Group in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.58% of the company’s stock.

Alta Equipment Group Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of ALTG opened at $11.75 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.40. Alta Equipment Group has a 12-month low of $8.76 and a 12-month high of $17.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $385.52 million, a PE ratio of 65.28 and a beta of 1.65. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.30.

Alta Equipment Group (NYSE:ALTG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The company reported ($0.08) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by ($0.03). Alta Equipment Group had a net margin of 0.47% and a return on equity of 8.60%. The firm had revenue of $521.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $478.68 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Alta Equipment Group will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Alta Equipment Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 15th were paid a dividend of $0.057 per share. This represents a $0.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 14th. Alta Equipment Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 127.78%.

Alta Equipment Group Company Profile

Alta Equipment Group Inc owns and operates integrated equipment dealership platforms in the United States. It operates through three segments: Material Handling, Construction Equipment, and Master Distribution. The company operates a branch network that sells, rents, and provides parts and service support for various categories of specialized equipment, including lift trucks and other material handling equipment, heavy and compact earthmoving equipment, crushing and screening equipment, environmental processing equipment, cranes and aerial work platforms, paving and asphalt equipment, and other construction equipment and related products.