Alta Equipment Group (NYSE:ALTG) Lowered to “Hold” at Raymond James

Raymond James downgraded shares of Alta Equipment Group (NYSE:ALTG) from a moderate buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Thursday morning, Zacks.com reports.

Separately, DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of Alta Equipment Group from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st.

Alta Equipment Group Trading Down 6.2 %

ALTG opened at $6.01 on Thursday. Alta Equipment Group has a 1-year low of $5.77 and a 1-year high of $16.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $8.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $199.21 million, a PE ratio of -28.62 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.93.

Alta Equipment Group (NYSE:ALTG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.38) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.34). The business had revenue of $488.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $497.57 million. Alta Equipment Group had a negative net margin of 0.21% and a negative return on equity of 0.35%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alta Equipment Group will post -0.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alta Equipment Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $0.057 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $0.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.79%. Alta Equipment Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -104.76%.

Insider Activity at Alta Equipment Group

In related news, major shareholder Mill Road Capital Iii, L.P. purchased 54,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $9.14 per share, for a total transaction of $495,388.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,063,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,142,291.12. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Jeffrey Alan Hoover purchased 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $8.17 per share, with a total value of $32,680.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 11,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $94,780.17. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Mill Road Capital Iii, L.P. purchased 54,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $9.14 per share, with a total value of $495,388.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 4,063,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,142,291.12. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 313,100 shares of company stock worth $2,753,631. Corporate insiders own 19.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alta Equipment Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Alta Equipment Group by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 567,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,567,000 after acquiring an additional 18,343 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alta Equipment Group by 460.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 211,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,701,000 after purchasing an additional 173,810 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alta Equipment Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $80,000. Foundry Partners LLC increased its position in Alta Equipment Group by 17.8% in the 2nd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 346,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,783,000 after buying an additional 52,255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Alta Equipment Group by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 31,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 3,803 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.58% of the company’s stock.

About Alta Equipment Group

Alta Equipment Group Inc owns and operates integrated equipment dealership platforms in the United States. It operates through three segments: Material Handling, Construction Equipment, and Master Distribution. The company operates a branch network that sells, rents, and provides parts and service support for various categories of specialized equipment, including lift trucks and other material handling equipment, heavy and compact earthmoving equipment, crushing and screening equipment, environmental processing equipment, cranes and aerial work platforms, paving and asphalt equipment, and other construction equipment and related products.