AdvisorShares Investments LLC Invests $423,000 in Alto Ingredients, Inc. $ALTO

AdvisorShares Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alto Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALTO) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 147,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $423,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Peapod Lane Capital LLC increased its stake 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 during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alto Ingredients by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 522,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $564,000 after buying an additional 35,607 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alto Ingredients by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 275,552 shares of the company’s stock worth $314,000 after buying an additional 21,626 shares during the period. Hamilton Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alto Ingredients during the 4th quarter worth $577,000. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alto Ingredients during the 4th quarter worth $418,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Alto Ingredients from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Alto Ingredients from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Alto Ingredients from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of Alto Ingredients from $5.50 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.00.

Insider Activity at Alto Ingredients

In other Alto Ingredients news, Director Gilbert E. Nathan acquired 20,000 shares of Alto Ingredients stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $4.61 per share, with a total value of $92,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 769,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,548,506.01. The trade was a 2.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.26% of the company’s stock.

Alto Ingredients Price Performance

Shares of Alto Ingredients stock opened at $5.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 3.81 and a quick ratio of 2.54. Alto Ingredients, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $0.90 and a fifty-two week high of $5.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $4.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3.49. The company has a market cap of $422.32 million, a PE ratio of 14.73 and a beta of 0.14.

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

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.