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

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

Alta Equipment Group Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of ALTG stock opened at $11.68 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $11.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.30. 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 PE 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.

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

Alta Equipment Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 15th were given a dividend of $0.057 per share. 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 127.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alta Equipment Group news, CFO Anthony Colucci sold 17,222 shares of Alta Equipment Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.45, for a total transaction of $197,191.90. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 156,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,793,173.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, major shareholder Voss Capital, Llc bought 6,108 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $10.65 per share, with a total value of $65,050.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 975,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,383,750. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Anthony Colucci sold 17,222 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.45, for a total value of $197,191.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 156,609 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,793,173.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,816,886 shares of company stock valued at $31,011,780 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 20.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alta Equipment Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ALTG. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Alta Equipment Group by 280.0% during the first quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 7,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 5,238 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in Alta Equipment Group during the first quarter worth $147,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Alta Equipment Group by 54.9% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 10,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,000 after acquiring an additional 3,862 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Alta Equipment Group by 50.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 180,799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,235,000 after acquiring an additional 60,253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alta Equipment Group by 54.7% during the first quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 101,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,321,000 after acquiring an additional 35,905 shares during the last quarter. 73.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Alta Equipment Group in a report on Friday, March 15th. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 price objective (down previously from $25.00) on shares of Alta Equipment Group in a report on Friday, March 15th.

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.