Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Sunday.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on ALTO. Zacks Research raised shares of Alto Ingredients from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Alto Ingredients in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Alto Ingredients Trading Down 7.5%

NASDAQ ALTO opened at $4.31 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $333.34 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.94 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 2.30 and a current ratio of 3.56. Alto Ingredients has a one year low of $0.76 and a one year high of $4.89. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $2.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $2.15.

Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 4th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.17. Alto Ingredients had a net margin of 1.45% and a return on equity of 3.10%. The company had revenue of $231.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $234.83 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Alto Ingredients will post -0.37 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alto Ingredients

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALTO. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Alto Ingredients in the 4th quarter valued at about $204,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Alto Ingredients by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 373,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,077,000 after acquiring an additional 35,761 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Alto Ingredients by 34.2% in the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 52,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $152,000 after acquiring an additional 13,431 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alto Ingredients by 2,967.5% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 369,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,064,000 after acquiring an additional 357,467 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its holdings in Alto Ingredients by 756.1% in the fourth quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 168,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 148,604 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

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.