Alta Equipment Group Inc. (NYSE:ALTG) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Alta Equipment Group Inc. (NYSE:ALTG) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,740,000 shares, a decrease of 5.4% from the March 15th total of 1,840,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 328,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.3 days. Approximately 7.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Alta Equipment Group in a research report on Friday, March 15th. B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective (down previously from $25.00) on shares of Alta Equipment Group in a research report on Friday, March 15th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alta Equipment Group news, major shareholder Voss Capital, Llc purchased 6,108 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The shares were bought at an average price of $10.65 per share, for a total transaction of $65,050.20. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 975,000 shares in the company, valued at $10,383,750. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Alta Equipment Group news, CEO Ryan Greenawalt sold 34,951 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.36, for a total value of $397,043.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 5,842,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,372,220. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Voss Capital, Llc acquired 6,108 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The stock was bought at an average price of $10.65 per share, for a total transaction of $65,050.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 975,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,383,750. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,816,886 shares of company stock worth $31,011,780. 20.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Register Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Alta Equipment Group by 23.3% in the 1st quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC now owns 232,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,013,000 after purchasing an additional 43,901 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in Alta Equipment Group by 42.8% in the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 15,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,000 after purchasing an additional 4,517 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Alta Equipment Group in the 4th quarter valued at $190,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Alta Equipment Group by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,241,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,354,000 after purchasing an additional 60,679 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Summit Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Alta Equipment Group in the 4th quarter valued at $339,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.58% of the company’s stock.

Alta Equipment Group Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:ALTG opened at $11.68 on Thursday. Alta Equipment Group has a 1 year low of $8.76 and a 1 year high of $17.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $383.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.89 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.40, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $11.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.30.

Alta Equipment Group (NYSE:ALTG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The company reported ($0.08) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by ($0.03). Alta Equipment Group had a net margin of 0.47% and a return on equity of 8.60%. The business had revenue of $521.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $478.68 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Alta Equipment Group will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alta Equipment Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 15th were issued a $0.057 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 14th. This represents a $0.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. Alta Equipment Group’s payout ratio is currently 127.78%.

About Alta Equipment Group

Alta Equipment Group Inc owns and operates integrated equipment dealership platforms in the United States. It operates through three segments: Material Handling, Construction Equipment, and Master Distribution. The company operates a branch network that sells, rents, and provides parts and service support for various categories of specialized equipment, including lift trucks and other material handling equipment, heavy and compact earthmoving equipment, crushing and screening equipment, environmental processing equipment, cranes and aerial work platforms, paving and asphalt equipment, and other construction equipment and related products.