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

Zacks Research cut shares of Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings raised Alto Ingredients from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Alto Ingredients from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their target price on shares of Alto Ingredients from $5.50 to $10.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.00.

Alto Ingredients Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ ALTO opened at $5.65 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $5.22 and its 200-day moving average is $4.09. Alto Ingredients has a 1 year low of $0.92 and a 1 year high of $6.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $437.82 million, a PE ratio of 15.27 and a beta of 0.13. The company has a current ratio of 3.81, a quick ratio of 2.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $224.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $215.65 million. Alto Ingredients had a net margin of 3.20% and a return on equity of 9.77%. Equities analysts expect that Alto Ingredients will post 0.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alto Ingredients

In other news, Director Gilbert E. Nathan acquired 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $4.61 per share, for a total transaction of $92,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 769,741 shares in the company, valued at $3,548,506.01. This represents a 2.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 4.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALTO. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Alto Ingredients by 67.9% in 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 last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Alto Ingredients by 9.8% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,673,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,100,000 after acquiring an additional 149,657 shares during the period. Peapod Lane Capital LLC grew its position in shares of 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 acquired a new stake in Alto Ingredients during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,324,000. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Alto Ingredients by 590.1% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.