Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.07 EPS

Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.07, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $257.89 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $250.97 million. Alto Ingredients had a net margin of 5.29% and a return on equity of 17.53%.

Here are the key takeaways from Alto Ingredients’ conference call:

• Alto reported a fifth consecutive quarter of positive gross profit, operating income, net income, and adjusted EBITDA, with adjusted EBITDA of $21 million in Q3. Management attributed the results to core operations, with 45Z credits providing additional support.
• Gross profit fell $8.7 million year over year to $14.8 million, primarily as the industry crush margin declined to $0.30 per gallon from $0.41; SG&A also rose $1.3 million. The lower margin reflects an $0.11-per-gallon decline in market crush.
• Management expects at least $20 million in net 2026 45Z tax credit earnings, with 90 million or more qualifying gallons, and plans to monetize the credits in the first half of 2027. A new three-year farmer cooperative agreement covering up to 20 million bushels of low-carbon corn is expected to contribute modestly in 2026, with greater potential in 2027.
• Cash from operations was $13 million in Q3, and Alto paid down $6.5 million on its line of credit; year-to-date, it reduced total debt by $26.5 million. The company remains on track for $25 million in 2026 capital spending, including projects to lift Pekin capacity by about 8% and improve logistics and CO? storage.
• Management sees potential demand and margin support from California’s new E15 legislation, estimating adoption could add 600 million or more gallons of annual ethanol demand over time. Alto shifted sales toward the domestic market, which currently offers better economics than Europe, while saying export opportunities may improve in 2027.

Alto Ingredients Price Performance

ALTO stock traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $3.74. 2,472,534 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,777,308. The stock has a market cap of $290.10 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 2.17 and a current ratio of 3.19. Alto Ingredients has a fifty-two week low of $1.30 and a fifty-two week high of $6.11. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $3.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.27.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALTO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Benchmark upgraded shares of Alto Ingredients to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alto Ingredients in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Alto Ingredients in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Scotiabank set a $10.00 price target on Alto Ingredients in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alto Ingredients currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $10.00.

Insider Activity at Alto Ingredients

In other news, Director Gilbert Nathan bought 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $4.15 per share, with a total value of $207,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 856,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,554,030.95. The trade was a 6.20% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 4.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Alto Ingredients Company Profile

Alto Ingredients, Inc (NASDAQ:ALTO) is a renewable fuels and specialty ingredients company that produces low-carbon ethanol and other products derived primarily from corn. Its ethanol is used as a transportation fuel and as a blending component in gasoline, while the company’s operations support markets focused on renewable energy and lower-carbon fuel alternatives.

In addition to ethanol, Alto Ingredients produces and markets co-products such as dried distillers grains, wet distillers grains and renewable corn oil.