Alight (NYSE:ALIT) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Alight, Inc. (NYSE:ALIT) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $6.68, but opened at $7.63. Alight shares last traded at $7.02, with a volume of 2,096,203 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on ALIT. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $9.00 target price on shares of Alight in a research report on Friday. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Alight from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Alight from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $10.61.

Alight Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $6.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -22.75 and a beta of 0.94.

Alight (NYSE:ALIT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $680.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $675.66 million. Alight had a positive return on equity of 5.42% and a negative net margin of 5.53%. Equities analysts expect that Alight, Inc. will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Alight Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Gregory R. Goff sold 250,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.00, for a total transaction of $2,000,000.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 852,694 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,821,552. This trade represents a 22.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 5.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alight

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alight during the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,063,000. Highland Peak Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alight in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,315,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Alight by 202.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,864,038 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,794,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248,465 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alight by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 9,988,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,913,000 after purchasing an additional 286,133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wexford Capital LP raised its position in Alight by 320.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wexford Capital LP now owns 110,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $814,000 after purchasing an additional 83,822 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.74% of the company’s stock.

About Alight

Alight, Inc provides cloud-based integrated digital human capital and business solutions worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Employer Solutions and Professional Services. The Employer Solutions segment offers employee wellbeing, integrated benefits administration, healthcare navigation, financial wellbeing, leave of absence management, retiree healthcare and payroll; and operates AI-led capabilities software.