Raymond James Financial Upgrades Alta Equipment Group (NYSE:ALTG) to Outperform

Key Points

• Raymond James upgraded Alta Equipment Group to Outperform with a $9.50 price target, signaling about a 43% upside from the current share price.
• Alta reported a quarterly EPS miss (‑$0.39 vs. consensus ‑$0.29) despite revenue of $509.1M beating estimates, and the company remains unprofitable with a negative net margin and very weak returns on equity while the stock trades near $6.64.
• Both the CEO and CFO sold shares on March 3, insiders now own 19.9% of the company, and institutional investors hold roughly 73.6% of the stock, indicating mixed signals between management activity and institutional interest.

Alta Equipment Group (NYSE:ALTG - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Raymond James Financial from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $9.50 price target on the stock. Raymond James Financial's target price would indicate a potential upside of 43.07% from the company's current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on ALTG. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Alta Equipment Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Zacks Research raised Alta Equipment Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 19th. DA Davidson set a $7.00 price target on shares of Alta Equipment Group in a report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Alta Equipment Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alta Equipment Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $11.63.

Alta Equipment Group Trading Down 4.5%

ALTG opened at $6.64 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $214.07 million, a P/E ratio of -2.59 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 257.10. The company's 50 day moving average is $6.42 and its 200-day moving average is $6.29. Alta Equipment Group has a 1-year low of $3.54 and a 1-year high of $8.99.

Alta Equipment Group (NYSE:ALTG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.39) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.29) by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $509.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $489.56 million. Alta Equipment Group had a negative net margin of 4.37% and a negative return on equity of 341.70%. Equities research analysts predict that Alta Equipment Group will post -1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Anthony Colucci sold 8,137 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.05, for a total value of $57,365.85. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 240,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,697,287.50. The trade was a 3.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Ryan Greenawalt sold 27,986 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.05, for a total value of $197,301.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 5,721,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,338,055.50. The trade was a 0.49% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 19.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alta Equipment Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its stake in Alta Equipment Group by 221.1% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 6,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 4,200 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Alta Equipment Group by 55.1% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,153 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 2,186 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Alta Equipment Group by 150.9% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 6,676 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 4,015 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Alta Equipment Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $79,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.58% of the company's stock.

Alta Equipment Group Company Profile

Alta Equipment Group, Inc NYSE: ALTG is a North American distributor of material handling and logistics equipment. The company offers a broad lineup of forklifts, lift trucks, aerial work platforms, tow motors, pallet jacks and related attachments, serving manufacturing, warehousing, distribution and industrial facilities. Through its network of branch locations, Alta Equipment provides customers with new and used sales, short- and long-term rentals, and integrated fleet management solutions designed to support operational efficiency.

In addition to equipment sales, Alta Equipment supports customers with comprehensive after-sales services.

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