Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) Stock Rating Raised to Strong-Buy at Benchmark

Key Points

• Benchmark upgraded Alto Ingredients to “strong buy,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “moderate buy” with a $10.00 target price.
• Alto Ingredients exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.15 in EPS versus an $0.08 estimate and $245.7 million in revenue versus the $231.24 million consensus.
• The stock opened at $3.69, below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, while an insider purchased 50,000 shares and institutional investors held 42.44% of outstanding shares.

Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Benchmark to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alto Ingredients in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research cut shares of Alto Ingredients from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Alto Ingredients in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Scotiabank set a $10.00 target price on shares of Alto Ingredients in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Alto Ingredients currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $10.00.

Alto Ingredients Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ALTO opened at $3.69 on Wednesday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $4.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4.76. Alto Ingredients has a twelve month low of $0.99 and a twelve month high of $6.11. The stock has a market cap of $286.23 million, a P/E ratio of 5.51 and a beta of 0.16. The company has a quick ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 3.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $245.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $231.24 million. Alto Ingredients had a return on equity of 18.54% and a net margin of 5.51%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alto Ingredients will post 0.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Alto Ingredients

In related news, Director Gilbert Nathan bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $4.15 per share, with a total value of $207,500.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 856,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,554,030.95. The trade was a 6.20% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 4.28% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alto Ingredients

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ALTO. WINTON GROUP Ltd lifted its position in Alto Ingredients by 33.8% in the second quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 24,075 shares of the company's stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 6,075 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Alto Ingredients in the second quarter worth approximately $41,000. Corsair Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Alto Ingredients by 4.0% in the first quarter. Corsair Capital Management L.P. now owns 260,200 shares of the company's stock worth $1,259,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of Alto Ingredients by 36.8% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 37,471 shares of the company's stock worth $183,000 after buying an additional 10,070 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Alto Ingredients during the 1st quarter valued at $49,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alto Ingredients Company Profile

Alto Ingredients, Inc is a renewable fuels and specialty alcohols company that produces and markets low-carbon ethanol and related products. Its offerings are used as transportation fuel, fuel additives, industrial and beverage alcohol, and in other commercial applications.

The company also produces co-products from its ethanol manufacturing operations, including distillers grains used as animal feed and corn oil used in feed, fuel and industrial markets. Alto Ingredients has pursued opportunities to develop lower-carbon products and improve the value of its agricultural and renewable fuel operations.

Previously known as Pacific Ethanol, the company adopted the Alto Ingredients name in 2020 to reflect its broader focus beyond conventional ethanol production.

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