Alexander & Baldwin Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ALEX) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Alexander & Baldwin Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ALEX) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,622,699 shares, a growth of 29.5% from the December 31st total of 1,252,766 shares. Currently, 2.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 714,687 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days. Based on an average daily volume of 714,687 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days. Currently, 2.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ALEX. Evelyn Partners Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Alexander & Baldwin during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new position in shares of Alexander & Baldwin during the first quarter valued at about $41,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Alexander & Baldwin by 33.4% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares during the period. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alexander & Baldwin in the second quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in Alexander & Baldwin during the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. 91.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alexander & Baldwin Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of Alexander & Baldwin stock traded down $0.01 during trading on Monday, reaching $20.74. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 672,551 shares, compared to its average volume of 628,045. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Alexander & Baldwin has a 52-week low of $15.07 and a 52-week high of $21.03. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $19.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.34. The company has a market cap of $1.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.53 and a beta of 0.92.

Alexander & Baldwin (NYSE:ALEX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The financial services provider reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $50.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $50.69 million. Alexander & Baldwin had a return on equity of 7.29% and a net margin of 33.62%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alexander & Baldwin will post 1.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Alexander & Baldwin Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 19th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This is an increase from Alexander & Baldwin’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 19th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.8%. Alexander & Baldwin’s payout ratio is presently 138.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler lowered Alexander & Baldwin from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $21.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Alliance Global Partners lowered Alexander & Baldwin from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Alexander & Baldwin from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $20.85 target price on shares of Alexander & Baldwin in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott lowered shares of Alexander & Baldwin from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $21.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.95.

About Alexander & Baldwin

Founded in 1870 by Samuel T. Alexander and Henry P. Baldwin as a sugarcane plantation on Maui, Alexander & Baldwin, Inc (NYSE: ALEX) today operates as a Hawai‘i-focused real estate investment trust headquartered in Honolulu. The company transitioned from its agricultural origins into a diversified real estate owner, operator and developer, completing its conversion to a REIT structure in late 2019 to align its corporate governance with its core property portfolio.

Alexander & Baldwin’s commercial real estate arm spans office, retail, industrial and hospitality properties across the four major Hawaiian Islands.