Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,850,000 shares, a decrease of 21.3% from the January 31st total of 2,350,000 shares. Currently, 5.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 708,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Atkore Stock Up 5.2 %

Shares of ATKR stock traded up $3.08 on Wednesday, hitting $62.32. The stock had a trading volume of 517,976 shares, compared to its average volume of 734,654. Atkore has a one year low of $55.91 and a one year high of $194.98. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $76.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.42. The company has a market cap of $2.16 billion, a PE ratio of 6.03 and a beta of 2.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 3.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

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

Atkore Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Atkore’s payout ratio is 12.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ATKR shares. Roth Mkm assumed coverage on shares of Atkore in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. Roth Capital raised Atkore to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. B. Riley downgraded Atkore from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $84.00 in a report on Friday, November 22nd. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on Atkore from $105.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $102.00 target price (up previously from $93.00) on shares of Atkore in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.17.

Insider Activity at Atkore

In other Atkore news, insider Mark F. Lamps sold 500 shares of Atkore stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $32,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,194,400. The trade was a 1.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atkore

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Atkore in the fourth quarter worth about $10,207,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Atkore during the 4th quarter worth approximately $581,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in Atkore by 143.1% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 5,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $496,000 after acquiring an additional 3,495 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new stake in Atkore during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Finally, CSS LLC IL boosted its stake in Atkore by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. CSS LLC IL now owns 4,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $345,000 after acquiring an additional 526 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.