Alta Equipment Group (NYSE:ALTG) Trading 2.1% Higher – Should You Buy?

Alta Equipment Group Inc. (NYSE:ALTG) was up 2.1% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $6.57 and last traded at $6.31. Approximately 260,575 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 17% from the average daily volume of 222,709 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.18.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Alta Equipment Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Alta Equipment Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on Alta Equipment Group from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Alta Equipment Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alta Equipment Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.00.

Alta Equipment Group Stock Up 2.3%

The company has a market cap of $208.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.57 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 257.10, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $5.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.55.

Alta Equipment Group (NYSE:ALTG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($1.31) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($1.04). Alta Equipment Group had a negative return on equity of 175.61% and a negative net margin of 4.34%.The firm had revenue of $422.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $456.68 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Alta Equipment Group Inc. will post -1.92 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Alta Equipment Group news, Director Daniel Shribman purchased 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $5.07 per share, for a total transaction of $202,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 131,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $666,162.51. The trade was a 43.77% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 19.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALTG. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alta Equipment Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,435,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Alta Equipment Group by 262.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 199,434 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,444,000 after buying an additional 144,350 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its position in shares of Alta Equipment Group by 147.3% during the 2nd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 230,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,454,000 after buying an additional 137,000 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in Alta Equipment Group in the third quarter valued at about $968,000. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its position in Alta Equipment Group by 16.2% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 792,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,006,000 after acquiring an additional 110,444 shares during the last quarter. 73.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alta Equipment Group Company Profile

Alta Equipment Group, Inc (NYSE: ALTG) is a North American distributor of material handling and logistics equipment. The company offers a broad lineup of forklifts, lift trucks, aerial work platforms, tow motors, pallet jacks and related attachments, serving manufacturing, warehousing, distribution and industrial facilities. Through its network of branch locations, Alta Equipment provides customers with new and used sales, short- and long-term rentals, and integrated fleet management solutions designed to support operational efficiency.

In addition to equipment sales, Alta Equipment supports customers with comprehensive after-sales services.