Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. (NYSE:ALEX) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. (NYSE:ALEX) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 534,600 shares, a growth of 9.3% from the December 15th total of 489,100 shares. Currently, 0.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 331,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days.

Alexander & Baldwin Price Performance

Shares of ALEX stock traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $17.54. 236,906 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 391,280. Alexander & Baldwin has a twelve month low of $15.53 and a twelve month high of $20.30. The firm has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.28 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.35.

Alexander & Baldwin Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th were given a dividend of $0.2225 per share. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.08%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. Alexander & Baldwin’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 145.16%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alexander & Baldwin

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alexander & Baldwin in the 3rd quarter worth $1,151,000. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alexander & Baldwin by 61.2% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 94,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,817,000 after acquiring an additional 35,916 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alexander & Baldwin by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 965,435 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,536,000 after acquiring an additional 29,006 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alexander & Baldwin by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,876,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,032,000 after acquiring an additional 23,441 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alexander & Baldwin by 101.0% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 221,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,256,000 after acquiring an additional 111,392 shares during the last quarter. 91.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ALEX shares. StockNews.com lowered Alexander & Baldwin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective (up from $22.00) on shares of Alexander & Baldwin in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Alexander & Baldwin in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.50.

About Alexander & Baldwin

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.