Alliance Laundry (NYSE:ALH) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Alliance Laundry Holdings Inc. (NYSE:ALH)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $24.04, but opened at $24.93. Alliance Laundry shares last traded at $24.0350, with a volume of 279,909 shares.

The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $460.92 million for the quarter. Alliance Laundry had a return on equity of 81.92% and a net margin of 10.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on ALH. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Alliance Laundry from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Alliance Laundry from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Zacks Research raised Alliance Laundry from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Alliance Laundry from $31.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Alliance Laundry from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Gommaar Vleugels sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.05, for a total transaction of $1,578,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 374,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,884,551.15. This represents a 16.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 7.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alliance Laundry

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bridges Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alliance Laundry by 37.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 3,764 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new stake in Alliance Laundry in the third quarter worth $1,706,000. Royce & Associates LP purchased a new stake in Alliance Laundry in the third quarter worth $211,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Alliance Laundry by 7.6% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 21,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $464,000 after purchasing an additional 1,541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Alliance Laundry by 30.3% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 8,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $182,000 after purchasing an additional 1,993 shares in the last quarter.

Alliance Laundry Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $4.78 billion and a PE ratio of 26.52. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.50.

About Alliance Laundry