Alta Equipment Group Inc. (NYSE:ALTG) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Alta Equipment Group Inc. (NYSE:ALTG) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,480,000 shares, an increase of 19.8% from the July 31st total of 2,070,000 shares. Currently, 12.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 454,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on Alta Equipment Group from $20.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $10.00 target price (down previously from $14.00) on shares of Alta Equipment Group in a report on Friday, August 9th.

Alta Equipment Group Stock Down 2.7 %

Alta Equipment Group stock opened at $6.74 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $223.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -32.10 and a beta of 1.69. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.89. Alta Equipment Group has a 12 month low of $5.40 and a 12 month high of $14.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.81.

Alta Equipment Group (NYSE:ALTG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.38) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.34). Alta Equipment Group had a negative return on equity of 13.09% and a negative net margin of 0.95%. The firm had revenue of $488.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $497.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.16 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Alta Equipment Group will post -1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alta Equipment Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a $0.057 dividend. This represents a $0.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Alta Equipment Group’s payout ratio is currently -109.52%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Mill Road Capital Iii, L.P. bought 75,486 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was bought at an average price of $10.35 per share, for a total transaction of $781,280.10. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 3,969,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,084,262.90. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Andrew P. Studdert acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $5.65 per share, for a total transaction of $56,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 86,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $489,239.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Mill Road Capital Iii, L.P. acquired 75,486 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $10.35 per share, with a total value of $781,280.10. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 3,969,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,084,262.90. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 323,100 shares of company stock worth $2,810,131 in the last quarter. 19.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alta Equipment Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mill Road Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Alta Equipment Group by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Mill Road Capital Management LLC now owns 2,361,002 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,206,000 after purchasing an additional 450,023 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Alta Equipment Group by 0.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,250,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,189,000 after purchasing an additional 8,962 shares during the period. Granahan Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Alta Equipment Group by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC now owns 1,030,942 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,753,000 after purchasing an additional 105,783 shares during the period. Nantahala Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Alta Equipment Group by 108.2% during the second quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 838,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,739,000 after purchasing an additional 435,713 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Alta Equipment Group by 3.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 567,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,567,000 after purchasing an additional 18,343 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.58% of the company’s stock.

Alta Equipment Group Company Profile

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.