Insider Buying: Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) Director Purchases 20,000 Shares of Stock

Alto Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALTO) Director Gilbert Nathan acquired 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $4.61 per share, with a total value of $92,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 769,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,548,506.01. The trade was a 2.67% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Alto Ingredients Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of ALTO traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $4.66. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,472,109 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,672,790. The stock has a market cap of $360.17 million, a PE ratio of 12.59 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a current ratio of 3.81, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Alto Ingredients, Inc. has a 52 week low of $0.84 and a 52 week high of $5.99. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $4.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.19.

Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $224.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $215.65 million. Alto Ingredients had a net margin of 3.20% and a return on equity of 9.77%. On average, analysts predict that Alto Ingredients, Inc. will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ALTO shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of Alto Ingredients from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Alto Ingredients from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on shares of Alto Ingredients from $5.50 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Alto Ingredients from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alto Ingredients

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Alto Ingredients by 67.9% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,790,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,665,000 after buying an additional 723,996 shares during the last quarter. Peapod Lane Capital LLC increased its position in Alto Ingredients by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Peapod Lane Capital LLC now owns 1,244,198 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,583,000 after purchasing an additional 9,074 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Alto Ingredients during the 4th quarter valued at $3,324,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Alto Ingredients by 590.1% during the 1st quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,000,703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,843,000 after purchasing an additional 855,703 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Alto Ingredients by 169.4% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 715,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,060,000 after purchasing an additional 449,697 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alto Ingredients Company Profile

Alto Ingredients, Inc (NASDAQ: ALTO) is a diversified producer of alcohol-based products and specialty ingredients for industrial, food, beverage and personal care applications. The company’s core offering centers on ethanol produced for fuel markets, as well as an expanding portfolio of natural and organic alcohols, glycerin and other ingredient solutions. Alto’s product lines serve a range of end markets, including renewable fuels, confectionery, flavorings, cosmetics and sanitizers.

Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Alto Ingredients operates a network of production facilities across the United States.