Alto Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALTO) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Alto Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALTO) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 530,000 shares, a drop of 9.4% from the December 31st total of 585,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 852,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.6 days. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alto Ingredients

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its position in Alto Ingredients by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,125,552 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,812,000 after purchasing an additional 93,054 shares during the period. Peapod Lane Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alto Ingredients in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,465,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Alto Ingredients by 5.4% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 370,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $597,000 after acquiring an additional 19,104 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in shares of Alto Ingredients by 101.2% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 289,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $466,000 after acquiring an additional 145,687 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Alto Ingredients by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 253,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $396,000 after acquiring an additional 11,949 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Alto Ingredients Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ALTO opened at $1.64 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $125.71 million, a PE ratio of -3.15 and a beta of 1.87. The company’s fifty day moving average is $1.59 and its 200 day moving average is $1.56. Alto Ingredients has a 52 week low of $1.18 and a 52 week high of $2.40. The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $251.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $274.94 million. Alto Ingredients had a negative return on equity of 11.22% and a negative net margin of 3.61%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.05) EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Alto Ingredients will post -0.37 earnings per share for the current year.

About Alto Ingredients

Alto Ingredients, Inc produces, distributes, and markets specialty alcohols, renewable fuel, and essential ingredients in the United States. The company operates in three segments: Marketing and Distribution, Pekin Campus Production, and Western Production. It offers specialty alcohols used in mouthwash, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, hand sanitizers, disinfectants, and cleaners for health, home, and beauty markets; grain neutral spirits used in alcoholic beverages and vinegar, as well as corn germ used in corn oils in the food and beverage markets; alcohols and other products for paint applications and fertilizers in the industrial and agriculture markets; and essential ingredients include dried yeast, corn protein meal, corn protein feed, distiller's grains, and liquid feed for commercial animal feed and pet food applications, as well as yeast for human consumption.