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

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alexander & Baldwin

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Alexander & Baldwin by 20.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 57,743 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $979,000 after buying an additional 9,730 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Alexander & Baldwin by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 34,792 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 2,179 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Alexander & Baldwin in the 2nd quarter valued at about $219,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Alexander & Baldwin by 5.3% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 38,563 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $654,000 after acquiring an additional 1,938 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Alexander & Baldwin by 274.3% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 6,737 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 4,937 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.29% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on ALEX shares. StockNews.com cut Alexander & Baldwin from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $23.00 price target (up previously from $22.00) on shares of Alexander & Baldwin in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Alexander & Baldwin in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.50.

Alexander & Baldwin Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of ALEX traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $17.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 125,209 shares, compared to its average volume of 296,302. The company has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.96 and a beta of 1.29. Alexander & Baldwin has a 1 year low of $15.53 and a 1 year high of $20.30. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $18.12 and a 200 day moving average of $18.78.

Alexander & Baldwin Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th were given a $0.2225 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. This represents a $0.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.96%. Alexander & Baldwin's dividend payout ratio is currently 145.16%.

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.