Alta Equipment Group Inc. (NYSE:ALTG) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Alta Equipment Group Inc. (NYSE:ALTG - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the five research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $11.25.

ALTG has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Alta Equipment Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. DA Davidson reduced their target price on Alta Equipment Group from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 19th. B. Riley assumed coverage on Alta Equipment Group in a report on Thursday, March 27th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $10.00 target price for the company. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price objective on Alta Equipment Group from $8.50 to $7.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Andrew P. Studdert purchased 6,743 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $4.80 per share, for a total transaction of $32,366.40. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 93,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $448,003.20. The trade was a 7.79% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 19.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alta Equipment Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD acquired a new stake in shares of Alta Equipment Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $69,000. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Alta Equipment Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in Alta Equipment Group by 51.7% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 12,533 shares of the company's stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 4,272 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Alta Equipment Group by 20.8% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,784 shares of the company's stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 2,375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Alta Equipment Group by 49.4% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 20,313 shares of the company's stock valued at $133,000 after buying an additional 6,716 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.58% of the company's stock.

Alta Equipment Group Stock Up 3.0%

Alta Equipment Group stock opened at $5.97 on Friday. Alta Equipment Group has a fifty-two week low of $3.54 and a fifty-two week high of $11.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.45, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company has a market capitalization of $196.01 million, a P/E ratio of -3.51 and a beta of 1.53. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.95.

Alta Equipment Group (NYSE:ALTG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.65) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.05). Alta Equipment Group had a negative net margin of 2.81% and a negative return on equity of 42.09%. The firm had revenue of $423.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $436.15 million. Equities research analysts expect that Alta Equipment Group will post -1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Alta Equipment Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.057 per share. This represents a $0.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. Alta Equipment Group's payout ratio is -9.87%.

Alta Equipment Group Company Profile

Alta Equipment Group Inc owns and operates integrated equipment dealership platforms in the United States. It operates through three segments: Material Handling, Construction Equipment, and Master Distribution. The company operates a branch network that sells, rents, and provides parts and service support for various categories of specialized equipment, including lift trucks and other material handling equipment, heavy and compact earthmoving equipment, crushing and screening equipment, environmental processing equipment, cranes and aerial work platforms, paving and asphalt equipment, and other construction equipment and related products.

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