Alta Equipment Group (NYSE:ALTG) Trading Up 2.1% – Time to Buy?

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Alta Equipment Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Zacks Research cut shares of Alta Equipment Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Alta Equipment Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their target price on Alta Equipment Group from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.00.

Alta Equipment Group Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $203.43 million, a PE ratio of -2.51 and a beta of 1.56. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $5.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 257.10.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Daniel Shribman bought 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $5.07 per share, for a total transaction of $202,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 131,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $666,162.51. This represents a 43.77% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 19.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alta Equipment Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ALTG. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alta Equipment Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Alta Equipment Group by 1,279.1% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 5,806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 5,385 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alta Equipment Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $74,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Alta Equipment Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new position in shares of Alta Equipment Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $81,000. 73.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Alta Equipment Group

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.