Alight Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:ALIT)

Key Points

• Alight, Inc. experienced a dramatic increase in call options trading, with 51,989 contracts traded—up by 3,987% compared to the usual volume.
• Recent analyst ratings have shown a downward adjustment of price targets, with Wedbush reducing their estimate to $7.00 from $9.00, while UBS and Needham also lowered their targets.
• The company set a $0.04 quarterly dividend, representing a 4.0% dividend yield, despite having a negative dividend payout ratio of -7.24%.

Alight, Inc. (NYSE:ALIT - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Traders acquired 51,989 call options on the company. Thisrepresentsanincreaseof3,987% compared to the typical volume of 1,272 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wedbush decreased their price objective on Alight from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Alight from $10.00 to $6.50 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on Alight from $8.00 to $6.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $8.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alight

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Alight by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,107,761 shares of the company's stock worth $28,426,000 after purchasing an additional 222,725 shares during the last quarter. Starboard Value LP grew its stake in Alight by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Starboard Value LP now owns 47,228,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $326,818,000 after buying an additional 3,833,000 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in Alight in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $428,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Alight by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,936,028 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,201,000 after buying an additional 506,666 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Alight by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,429,297 shares of the company's stock valued at $251,606,000 after buying an additional 1,548,078 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.74% of the company's stock.

Alight Trading Up 4.8%

Alight stock traded up $0.19 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $4.03. 12,878,199 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,033,404. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $4.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.42. Alight has a twelve month low of $3.62 and a twelve month high of $8.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a PE ratio of -1.83 and a beta of 1.02.

Alight (NYSE:ALIT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.10. The company had revenue of $528.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $525.26 million. Alight had a positive return on equity of 6.26% and a negative net margin of 50.37%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.05 EPS. Alight has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.580-0.640 EPS. Research analysts predict that Alight will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Alight Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Alight's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -7.24%.

Alight Company Profile

Alight, Inc provides cloud-based integrated digital human capital and business solutions worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Employer Solutions and Professional Services. The Employer Solutions segment offers employee wellbeing, integrated benefits administration, healthcare navigation, financial wellbeing, leave of absence management, retiree healthcare and payroll; and operates AI-led capabilities software.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.