Alexander & Baldwin (NYSE:ALEX) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. (NYSE:ALEX) shares gapped up prior to trading on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $18.00, but opened at $18.62. Alexander & Baldwin shares last traded at $18.84, with a volume of 53,461 shares traded.

The financial services provider reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.15. Alexander & Baldwin had a return on equity of 5.93% and a net margin of 19.64%. The company had revenue of $62.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.68 million.

Alexander & Baldwin Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.225 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.98%. This is a positive change from Alexander & Baldwin’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Alexander & Baldwin’s dividend payout ratio is presently 145.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ALEX shares. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Alexander & Baldwin in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com lowered Alexander & Baldwin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Alexander & Baldwin from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alexander & Baldwin

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Alexander & Baldwin by 19.9% in the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 3,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 572 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Alexander & Baldwin by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 27,594 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $490,000 after acquiring an additional 615 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Alexander & Baldwin by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 33,607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $596,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alexander & Baldwin by 5.2% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,732 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 683 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Alexander & Baldwin by 34.8% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 727 shares during the last quarter. 91.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alexander & Baldwin Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.12 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $17.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.64.

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.