Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. (NYSE:ALEX) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. (NYSE:ALEX) was the target of a large decline in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 620,000 shares, a decline of 15.9% from the September 15th total of 737,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 381,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days. Approximately 0.9% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Alexander & Baldwin from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $17.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Alliance Global Partners assumed coverage on shares of Alexander & Baldwin in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alexander & Baldwin currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.33.

Alexander & Baldwin Price Performance

Shares of Alexander & Baldwin stock traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $18.52. 184,867 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 328,761. The stock has a market cap of $1.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.57 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.53. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $19.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.69. Alexander & Baldwin has a 12 month low of $15.53 and a 12 month high of $20.30.

Alexander & Baldwin Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Friday, September 20th were issued a dividend of $0.2225 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 20th. This is a positive change from Alexander & Baldwin’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.81%. Alexander & Baldwin’s payout ratio is 145.90%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alexander & Baldwin

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ALEX. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Alexander & Baldwin during the 4th quarter worth approximately $379,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Alexander & Baldwin during the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. Everett Harris & Co. CA grew its holdings in Alexander & Baldwin by 489.7% during the 1st quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 60,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $996,000 after acquiring an additional 50,220 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Alexander & Baldwin by 18.7% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 46,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $772,000 after acquiring an additional 7,383 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in Alexander & Baldwin by 42.9% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 14,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 4,366 shares during the last quarter. 91.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alexander & Baldwin Company Profile

Alexander & Baldwin, Inc (NYSE: ALEX) (A&B) is the only publicly-traded real estate investment trust to focus exclusively on Hawai’i commercial real estate and is the state’s largest owner of grocery-anchored, neighborhood shopping centers. A&B owns, operates and manages approximately 3.9 million square feet of commercial space in Hawai’i, including 22 retail centers, 13 industrial assets and four office properties, as well as 142.0 acres of ground lease assets.