Reviewing Alta Equipment Group (ALTG) and The Competition

Alta Equipment Group (NYSE:ALTG) is one of 157 publicly-traded companies in the “Trading Companies & Distributors” industry, but how does it contrast to its peers? We will compare Alta Equipment Group to related companies based on the strength of its profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, institutional ownership and dividends.

Risk and Volatility

Alta Equipment Group has a beta of 1.76, indicating that its stock price is 76% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Alta Equipment Group’s peers have a beta of 1.32, indicating that their average stock price is 32% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

73.6% of Alta Equipment Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 50.5% of shares of all “Trading Companies & Distributors” companies are owned by institutional investors. 20.5% of Alta Equipment Group shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 17.3% of shares of all “Trading Companies & Distributors” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Alta Equipment Group and its peers top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Alta Equipment Group	$1.81 billion	-$80.30 million	-3.37
Alta Equipment Group Competitors	$6.67 billion	$363.16 million	33.57

Alta Equipment Group’s peers have higher revenue and earnings than Alta Equipment Group. Alta Equipment Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Dividends

Alta Equipment Group pays an annual dividend of $0.22 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Alta Equipment Group pays out -13.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Trading Companies & Distributors” companies pay a dividend yield of 2.6% and pay out 34.7% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Alta Equipment Group is clearly a better dividend stock than its peers, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Profitability

This table compares Alta Equipment Group and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Alta Equipment Group	-2.77%	-3,253.61%	-3.77%
Alta Equipment Group Competitors	1.10%	-33.71%	3.55%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Alta Equipment Group and its peers, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Alta Equipment Group	1	2	2	0	2.20
Alta Equipment Group Competitors	1469	4921	6741	242	2.43

Alta Equipment Group currently has a consensus target price of $9.83, indicating a potential upside of 79.28%. As a group, “Trading Companies & Distributors” companies have a potential upside of 8.00%. Given Alta Equipment Group’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Alta Equipment Group is more favorable than its peers.

Summary

Alta Equipment Group peers beat Alta Equipment Group on 9 of the 15 factors compared.

About Alta Equipment Group

Alta Equipment Group Inc. is an equipment dealership and rental company that provides machinery, parts, service and support to customers in the construction, industrial, manufacturing, warehousing and related sectors. The company operates through construction and material-handling businesses, serving contractors, businesses and public-sector organizations. Its construction equipment offerings include earthmoving machinery, aerial work platforms, cranes, compact equipment and other jobsite products.