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

Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. (NYSE:ALEX) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 791,800 shares, an increase of 21.2% from the February 28th total of 653,500 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 431,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days. Currently, 1.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Alexander & Baldwin Trading Down 2.6 %

NYSE:ALEX opened at $17.12 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.61 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Alexander & Baldwin has a 1-year low of $15.53 and a 1-year high of $20.30.

Alexander & Baldwin (NYSE:ALEX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.15. Alexander & Baldwin had a net margin of 19.64% and a return on equity of 5.93%. The firm had revenue of $62.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.68 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alexander & Baldwin will post 1.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Alexander & Baldwin Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.225 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Alexander & Baldwin’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.26%. Alexander & Baldwin’s dividend payout ratio is 107.14%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alexander & Baldwin

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ALEX. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Alexander & Baldwin during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,857,000. PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Alexander & Baldwin during the 4th quarter worth about $209,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Alexander & Baldwin by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 499,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,862,000 after acquiring an additional 18,312 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP acquired a new stake in Alexander & Baldwin during the fourth quarter worth $532,000. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its position in shares of Alexander & Baldwin by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 61,761 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,096,000 after acquiring an additional 3,375 shares in the last quarter. 91.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALEX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Alexander & Baldwin from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com cut Alexander & Baldwin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 16th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Alexander & Baldwin in a report on Monday, January 6th.

Alexander & Baldwin Company Profile

Alexander & Baldwin, Inc engages in the real estate business. It operates through the Commercial Real Estate and Land Operations segments. The Commercial Real Estate segment includes investments and acquisitions, construction and development, and in-house leasing and property management. The Land Operations segment consists of legacy landholdings, assets, and liabilities subject to the company’s simplification and monetization effort.