Alto Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALTO) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Alto Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALTO) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,499,882 shares, an increase of 109.9% from the February 26th total of 714,667 shares. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,809,710 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.3 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALTO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Alto Ingredients from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Zacks Research raised Alto Ingredients from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Alto Ingredients from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy”.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alto Ingredients

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ALTO. Vontobel Holding Ltd. bought a new position in Alto Ingredients during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new stake in Alto Ingredients in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Alto Ingredients in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alto Ingredients during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Alto Ingredients by 2,539,250.0% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 50,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 50,785 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Alto Ingredients Stock Performance

ALTO stock traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $4.45. 256,938 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,577,090. Alto Ingredients has a 1-year low of $0.76 and a 1-year high of $4.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $343.57 million, a PE ratio of 27.85 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $2.31. The company has a current ratio of 2.64, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $231.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $234.83 million. Alto Ingredients had a return on equity of 2.99% and a net margin of 1.45%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Alto Ingredients will post -0.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Alto Ingredients Company Profile

Alto Ingredients, Inc (NASDAQ: ALTO) is a diversified producer of alcohol-based products and specialty ingredients for industrial, food, beverage and personal care applications. The company’s core offering centers on ethanol produced for fuel markets, as well as an expanding portfolio of natural and organic alcohols, glycerin and other ingredient solutions. Alto’s product lines serve a range of end markets, including renewable fuels, confectionery, flavorings, cosmetics and sanitizers.

Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Alto Ingredients operates a network of production facilities across the United States.