ATS Co. (NYSE:ATS) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

ATS Co. (NYSE:ATS) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,460,000 shares, a growth of 6.5% from the August 31st total of 2,310,000 shares. Approximately 2.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 104,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 23.6 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ATS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on ATS from $36.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of ATS from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.00.

Institutional Trading of ATS

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ATS. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in ATS by 90.1% during the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 439,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,817,000 after purchasing an additional 208,200 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in ATS by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 517,284 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,331,000 after purchasing an additional 47,896 shares during the last quarter. ACK Asset Management LLC grew its stake in ATS by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. ACK Asset Management LLC now owns 1,304,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,205,000 after buying an additional 83,639 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Sarl lifted its position in ATS by 40.7% during the first quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 149,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,044,000 after acquiring an additional 43,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in ATS by 18.3% in the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 323,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,907,000 after purchasing an additional 50,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.84% of the company’s stock.

ATS Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of ATS traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $29.08. The stock had a trading volume of 53,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 104,428. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.88 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.99. ATS has a twelve month low of $24.82 and a twelve month high of $44.70.

ATS (NYSE:ATS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $507.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $502.41 million. ATS had a net margin of 6.11% and a return on equity of 14.63%. On average, analysts anticipate that ATS will post 1.44 EPS for the current year.

About ATS

ATS Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides automation solutions worldwide. The company is also involved in planning, designing, building, commissioning, and servicing automated manufacturing and assembly systems, including automation products and test solutions. In addition, it offers pre-automation services comprising discovery and analysis, concept development, simulation, and total cost of ownership modelling; post automation services, including training, process optimization, preventative maintenance, emergency and on-call support, spare parts, retooling, retrofits, and equipment relocation; and contract manufacturing services, as well as after sales and services.