Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) Downgraded to Buy Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Sunday morning.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on ALTO. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Alto Ingredients in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research raised Alto Ingredients from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Alto Ingredients Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of ALTO stock opened at $4.66 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.56, a quick ratio of 2.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market cap of $360.40 million, a P/E ratio of 29.13 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $2.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2.12. Alto Ingredients has a 1 year low of $0.76 and a 1 year high of $4.89.

Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $231.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $234.83 million. Alto Ingredients had a return on equity of 3.10% and a net margin of 1.45%. On average, research analysts predict that Alto Ingredients will post -0.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alto Ingredients

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALTO. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Alto Ingredients in the 4th quarter valued at $3,324,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alto Ingredients by 169.4% in 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 last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alto Ingredients by 2,967.5% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 369,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,064,000 after buying an additional 357,467 shares in the last quarter. Truffle Hound Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alto Ingredients during the 4th quarter worth $864,000. Finally, Corsair Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Alto Ingredients during the 4th quarter worth $721,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Alto Ingredients

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.