Alexander & Baldwin (NYSE:ALEX) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Alexander & Baldwin (NYSE:ALEX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday.

ALEX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Alexander & Baldwin from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Alexander & Baldwin in a report on Monday, January 6th.

Alexander & Baldwin Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:ALEX opened at $18.36 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.61 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.59. Alexander & Baldwin has a 52-week low of $15.53 and a 52-week high of $20.30.

Alexander & Baldwin (NYSE:ALEX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.15. Alexander & Baldwin had a net margin of 19.64% and a return on equity of 5.93%. The firm had revenue of $62.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.68 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Alexander & Baldwin will post 1.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alexander & Baldwin Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.225 per share. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Alexander & Baldwin’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Alexander & Baldwin’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 107.14%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alexander & Baldwin

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ALEX. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Alexander & Baldwin in the fourth quarter valued at $7,722,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alexander & Baldwin by 386.5% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 481,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,240,000 after purchasing an additional 382,327 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Alexander & Baldwin by 9.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,228,089 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $82,033,000 after purchasing an additional 363,223 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Alexander & Baldwin by 51.0% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 880,018 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,612,000 after purchasing an additional 297,044 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Alexander & Baldwin during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,236,000. 91.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alexander & Baldwin Company Profile

Alexander & Baldwin, Inc engages in the real estate business. It operates through the Commercial Real Estate and Land Operations segments. The Commercial Real Estate segment includes investments and acquisitions, construction and development, and in-house leasing and property management. The Land Operations segment consists of legacy landholdings, assets, and liabilities subject to the company’s simplification and monetization effort.