Alamo Group (NYSE:ALG) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Alamo Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALG) shares gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $170.43, but opened at $180.52. Alamo Group shares last traded at $179.3460, with a volume of 7,967 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Alamo Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. CJS Securities upgraded shares of Alamo Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Alamo Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Alamo Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price target on Alamo Group from $225.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alamo Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $222.33.

Alamo Group Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 4.43, a quick ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.26 billion, a PE ratio of 19.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a 50-day moving average of $169.29 and a 200 day moving average of $194.74.

Alamo Group (NYSE:ALG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.61 by ($0.27). Alamo Group had a return on equity of 11.11% and a net margin of 7.20%.The firm had revenue of $420.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $407.55 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Alamo Group, Inc. will post 9.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alamo Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 16th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 16th. This is a boost from Alamo Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Alamo Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.45%.

Insider Activity

In other Alamo Group news, CEO Robert Paul Hureau purchased 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $167.77 per share, with a total value of $100,662.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,944,118.76. The trade was a 5.46% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders purchased 1,058 shares of company stock valued at $175,209 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alamo Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ALG. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL boosted its holdings in shares of Alamo Group by 359.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 6,188 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,181,000 after buying an additional 4,842 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in Alamo Group in the third quarter worth about $211,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Alamo Group in the third quarter valued at about $310,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its position in shares of Alamo Group by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 8,771 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,663,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the period. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Alamo Group by 38.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 326,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $62,243,000 after acquiring an additional 90,556 shares during the period. 92.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Alamo Group

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.