Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR) Short Interest Update

Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,160,000 shares, an increase of 16.8% from the February 13th total of 1,850,000 shares. Approximately 6.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 659,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days.

Atkore Price Performance

Shares of Atkore stock traded up $1.79 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $66.83. 709,065 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 666,425. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.14. Atkore has a 52 week low of $55.91 and a 52 week high of $194.98. The firm has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.47 and a beta of 2.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 3.03 and a quick ratio of 1.96.

Atkore (NYSE:ATKR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.45. Atkore had a return on equity of 25.69% and a net margin of 12.42%. The company had revenue of $661.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $680.77 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.12 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Atkore will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Atkore Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. Atkore’s dividend payout ratio is 12.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Roth Mkm started coverage on shares of Atkore in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective (up previously from $93.00) on shares of Atkore in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Loop Capital cut Atkore from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $115.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Roth Capital upgraded Atkore to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, B. Riley downgraded shares of Atkore from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Atkore news, insider Mark F. Lamps sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $32,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,760 shares in the company, valued at $2,194,400. This trade represents a 1.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Atkore

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of Atkore by 87.7% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Atkore by 48.8% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 634 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Atkore by 30.2% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 841 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Atkore by 3,333.3% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Atkore by 47.7% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 469 shares in the last quarter.

About Atkore

Atkore Inc engages in the manufacture and sale of electrical, mechanical, safety, and infrastructure products and solutions in the United States and internationally. The company offers conduits, cables, and installation accessories. It also designs and manufactures protection and reliability solutions for critical infrastructure, such as metal framing, mechanical pipe, perimeter security, and cable management.