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

Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. (NYSE:ALEX) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 534,600 shares, a growth of 9.3% from the December 15th total of 489,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 331,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days. Approximately 0.8% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Alexander & Baldwin Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ALEX traded down $0.18 during trading on Friday, hitting $17.54. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 236,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 391,280. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $18.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.73. Alexander & Baldwin has a fifty-two week low of $15.53 and a fifty-two week high of $20.30. The company has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a PE ratio of 28.28 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.35.

Alexander & Baldwin Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a dividend of $0.2225 per share. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.08%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. Alexander & Baldwin’s payout ratio is currently 145.16%.

Institutional Trading of Alexander & Baldwin

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Alexander & Baldwin by 103.3% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,494 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 759 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Alexander & Baldwin by 90.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,183 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Alexander & Baldwin by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 727 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Alexander & Baldwin by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 3,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Alexander & Baldwin by 53.6% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 1,338 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALEX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Alexander & Baldwin in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $23.00 price target (up previously from $22.00) on shares of Alexander & Baldwin in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Alexander & Baldwin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.50.

About Alexander & Baldwin

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.