Short Interest in Alto Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALTO) Drops By 18.5%

Alto Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALTO) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of 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. Approximately 1.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 535,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.5 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $5.50 price objective on shares of Alto Ingredients in a research note on Thursday, March 6th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alto Ingredients

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. 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 valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 11,949 shares during the last quarter. Peapod Lane Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alto Ingredients during the 4th quarter worth about $1,465,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Alto Ingredients during the 4th quarter valued at about $54,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Alto Ingredients by 154.9% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 149,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 91,034 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Alto Ingredients by 78.6% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 18,109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 7,968 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alto Ingredients Price Performance

Shares of ALTO opened at $0.93 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.22 and a quick ratio of 2.15. The company has a market capitalization of $71.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.80 and a beta of 1.56. The business’s 50-day moving average is $0.91 and its 200-day moving average is $1.32. Alto Ingredients has a fifty-two week low of $0.76 and a fifty-two week high of $2.05.

Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $226.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $222.19 million. Alto Ingredients had a negative net margin of 3.61% and a negative return on equity of 11.22%. Equities research analysts expect that Alto Ingredients will post -0.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alto Ingredients Company Profile

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.