Alamo Group (NYSE:ALG) Now Covered by William Blair

William Blair started coverage on shares of Alamo Group (NYSE:ALG) in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Alamo Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Alamo Group in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Zacks Research lowered Alamo Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, CJS Securities upgraded Alamo Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.00.

Alamo Group Stock Performance

Shares of ALG stock opened at $170.06 on Monday. Alamo Group has a one year low of $156.29 and a one year high of $233.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 2.82 and a current ratio of 4.57. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $194.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $185.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.11.

Alamo Group (NYSE:ALG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The industrial products company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by ($0.36). Alamo Group had a net margin of 6.47% and a return on equity of 10.04%. The company had revenue of $373.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $405.18 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Alamo Group will post 9.53 EPS for the current year.

Alamo Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 16th were given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 16th. This is a positive change from Alamo Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Alamo Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.83%.

Insider Activity at Alamo Group

In other Alamo Group news, CEO Robert Paul Hureau bought 460 shares of Alamo Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $164.40 per share, for a total transaction of $75,624.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 12,506 shares in the company, valued at $2,055,986.40. This represents a 3.82% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Nina C. Grooms sold 499 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.19, for a total transaction of $87,419.81. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $498,240.36. The trade was a 14.93% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 1.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wasatch Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Alamo Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $51,427,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Alamo Group during the fourth quarter worth about $39,213,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Alamo Group by 239.4% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 157,291 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,404,000 after purchasing an additional 110,941 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Alamo Group by 201.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 153,720 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $33,569,000 after purchasing an additional 102,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tributary Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Alamo Group by 92.5% in the third quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 203,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,895,000 after buying an additional 97,898 shares during the last quarter. 92.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alamo Group Company Profile

Alamo Group, Inc engages in the design, manufacture and marketing of equipment for vegetation management, roadside maintenance, agricultural harvesting and industrial applications. The company offers a broad portfolio of products, including boom mowers, flail mowers, rotary cutters, snow removal equipment, slurry seal machines, railcar movers and tow tractors. These offerings are distributed under a variety of brand names and through a network of independent dealerships and distributors, meeting the needs of municipalities, highway departments, agricultural producers and industrial operators.

The company operates through two primary segments: Agricultural and Industrial.