Alto Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALTO) Short Interest Down 18.5% in May

Alto Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALTO - Get Free Report) saw a large decrease in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 783,600 shares, a decrease of 18.5% from the April 30th total of 962,000 shares. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 535,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Institutional Trading of Alto Ingredients

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Alto Ingredients by 78.6% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 18,109 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 7,968 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Alto Ingredients by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 893,951 shares of the company's stock worth $1,395,000 after purchasing an additional 8,435 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Alto Ingredients by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 253,926 shares of the company's stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 11,949 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Alto Ingredients by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 89,072 shares of the company's stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 12,369 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alto Ingredients in the fourth quarter valued at about $50,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $5.50 target price on shares of Alto Ingredients in a report on Thursday, March 6th.

Alto Ingredients Price Performance

NASDAQ:ALTO traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $0.98. 171,463 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 594,489. The stock has a market cap of $74.71 million, a PE ratio of -1.88 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Alto Ingredients has a 12 month low of $0.76 and a 12 month high of $2.05. The company has a fifty day moving average of $0.91 and a 200 day moving average of $1.32.

Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $226.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $222.19 million. Alto Ingredients had a negative net margin of 3.61% and a negative return on equity of 11.22%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Alto Ingredients will post -0.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Alto Ingredients

Alto Ingredients, Inc produces, distributes, and markets specialty alcohols, renewable fuel, and essential ingredients in the United States. The company operates in three segments: Marketing and Distribution, Pekin Campus Production, and Western Production. It offers specialty alcohols used in mouthwash, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, hand sanitizers, disinfectants, and cleaners for health, home, and beauty markets; grain neutral spirits used in alcoholic beverages and vinegar, as well as corn germ used in corn oils in the food and beverage markets; alcohols and other products for paint applications and fertilizers in the industrial and agriculture markets; and essential ingredients include dried yeast, corn protein meal, corn protein feed, distiller's grains, and liquid feed for commercial animal feed and pet food applications, as well as yeast for human consumption.