Alamo Group (NYSE:ALG) Lowered to Hold Rating by Baird R W

Baird R W downgraded shares of Alamo Group (NYSE:ALG) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Alamo Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird cut shares of Alamo Group from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $224.00 to $177.00 in a research report on Friday.

Alamo Group Stock Performance

NYSE:ALG opened at $175.02 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.63 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $183.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $183.94. Alamo Group has a fifty-two week low of $163.74 and a fifty-two week high of $228.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 4.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Alamo Group (NYSE:ALG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.16. Alamo Group had a return on equity of 12.41% and a net margin of 7.19%. The business had revenue of $385.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $396.85 million. Analysts expect that Alamo Group will post 9.53 EPS for the current year.

Alamo Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 16th were given a $0.30 dividend. This is an increase from Alamo Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 16th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Alamo Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.08%.

Insider Activity at Alamo Group

In other Alamo Group news, VP Janet S. Pollock sold 257 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.41, for a total value of $49,706.37. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $649,857.60. This trade represents a 7.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in Alamo Group during the 3rd quarter worth $35,759,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Alamo Group by 826.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 130,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $24,260,000 after acquiring an additional 116,404 shares in the last quarter. SG Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alamo Group during the fourth quarter worth about $16,971,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alamo Group by 338.4% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 115,856 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $21,539,000 after acquiring an additional 89,430 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Alamo Group by 279.3% in the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 55,068 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,238,000 after purchasing an additional 40,549 shares during the last quarter. 92.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Alamo Group

Alamo Group Inc designs, manufactures, distributes, and services vegetation management and infrastructure maintenance equipment for governmental, industrial, and agricultural uses worldwide. It operates through two segments, Vegetation Management and Industrial Equipment. Its Vegetation Management Division segment offers hydraulically-powered and tractor – and off-road chassis mounted mowers, other cutters and replacement parts for heavy-duty and intensive uses and heavy duty, tractor- and truck-mounted mowing and vegetation maintenance equipment, and replacement parts.