Alto Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALTO) Short Interest Update

Alto Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALTO) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,499,882 shares, a growth of 109.9% from the February 26th total of 714,667 shares. Currently, 2.0% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,809,710 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.3 days.

Alto Ingredients Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ ALTO opened at $4.38 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business’s 50 day moving average is $3.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.30. Alto Ingredients has a 52-week low of $0.76 and a 52-week high of $4.89. The firm has a market cap of $338.53 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.38 and a beta of 0.60.

Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.17. Alto Ingredients had a return on equity of 2.99% and a net margin of 1.45%.The business had revenue of $231.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $234.83 million. Research analysts predict that Alto Ingredients will post -0.37 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alto Ingredients

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ALTO. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Alto Ingredients in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,324,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alto Ingredients by 169.4% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 715,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,060,000 after purchasing an additional 449,697 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Alto Ingredients by 2,967.5% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 369,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,064,000 after purchasing an additional 357,467 shares in the last quarter. Truffle Hound Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alto Ingredients in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $864,000. Finally, Corsair Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Alto Ingredients in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $721,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Alto Ingredients from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Alto Ingredients from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Alto Ingredients from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alto Ingredients has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Alto Ingredients Company Profile

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.