Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Grows Holdings in Encore Wire Co. (NASDAQ:WIRE)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Encore Wire Co. (NASDAQ:WIRE) by 2.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,791 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after buying an additional 276 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned about 0.06% of Encore Wire worth $2,573,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WIRE. Spire Wealth Management increased its stake in Encore Wire by 42.0% during the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 142 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Encore Wire by 69.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 203 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Encore Wire in the 4th quarter worth about $80,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Encore Wire in the 4th quarter worth about $99,000. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its position in shares of Encore Wire by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 414 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.82% of the company’s stock.

Encore Wire Stock Performance

NASDAQ WIRE opened at $289.84 on Monday. Encore Wire Co. has a one year low of $150.51 and a one year high of $295.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $286.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $256.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.58 billion, a PE ratio of 15.38 and a beta of 1.19.

Encore Wire (NASDAQ:WIRE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The electronics maker reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $632.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $579.64 million. Encore Wire had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 17.77%. Encore Wire’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.50 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Encore Wire Co. will post 21.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Encore Wire Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. Encore Wire’s payout ratio is 0.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WIRE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Encore Wire in a research report on Sunday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. DA Davidson downgraded shares of Encore Wire from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $295.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. CJS Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Encore Wire in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Sidoti reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $290.00 target price on shares of Encore Wire in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th.

About Encore Wire

Encore Wire Corporation engages in manufacture and sale of electrical building wires and cables in the United States. It offers NM-B cables, UF-B cables, THHN/THWN-2, XHHW-2, USE-2, RHH/RHW-2, and other types of wire products, including SEU, SER, photovoltaic, URD, tray cables, metal-clads, and armored cables.