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

Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. (NYSE:ALEX) saw a large increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 447,800 shares, an increase of 6.6% from the March 31st total of 419,900 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 323,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Alexander & Baldwin Stock Performance

NYSE:ALEX opened at $16.47 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $16.30 and a 200 day moving average of $16.97. The company has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.00 and a beta of 1.21. Alexander & Baldwin has a 1-year low of $15.53 and a 1-year high of $19.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Alexander & Baldwin (NYSE:ALEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $61.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $51.55 million. Alexander & Baldwin had a return on equity of 4.76% and a net margin of 20.25%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.29 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Alexander & Baldwin will post 1.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alexander & Baldwin Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.222 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.39%. Alexander & Baldwin’s payout ratio is 145.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALEX has been the subject of a number of research reports. TheStreet lowered shares of Alexander & Baldwin from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Alexander & Baldwin from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alexander & Baldwin

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of Alexander & Baldwin by 42.9% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 14,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 4,366 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Alexander & Baldwin by 18.7% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 46,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $772,000 after buying an additional 7,383 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Alexander & Baldwin during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $41,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in Alexander & Baldwin by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 141,890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,337,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Finally, Everett Harris & Co. CA raised its stake in Alexander & Baldwin by 489.7% during the 1st quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 60,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $996,000 after purchasing an additional 50,220 shares during the period. 91.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alexander & Baldwin Company Profile

Alexander & Baldwin, Inc (NYSE: ALEX) (A&B) is the only publicly-traded real estate investment trust to focus exclusively on Hawai'i commercial real estate and is the state's largest owner of grocery-anchored, neighborhood shopping centers. A&B owns, operates and manages approximately 3.9 million square feet of commercial space in Hawai'i, including 22 retail centers, 13 industrial assets and four office properties, as well as 142.0 acres of ground lease assets.