Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR) Short Interest Update

Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,350,000 shares, a decline of 6.0% from the January 15th total of 2,500,000 shares. Approximately 7.0% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 737,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on ATKR. Loop Capital cut shares of Atkore from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $115.00 to $65.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. KeyCorp cut their price target on Atkore from $105.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. B. Riley cut Atkore from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Roth Mkm initiated 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $102.00 price target (up from $93.00) on shares of Atkore in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.17.

Atkore Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ATKR opened at $70.30 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $80.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $87.20. The company has a market cap of $2.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.81 and a beta of 2.12. 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 has a one year low of $62.62 and a one year high of $194.98.

Atkore (NYSE:ATKR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $661.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $680.77 million. Atkore had a return on equity of 25.69% and a net margin of 12.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.12 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Atkore will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atkore Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. Atkore’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atkore

In related news, Director Jeri L. Isbell sold 3,353 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.03, for a total value of $315,282.59. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,405,757.55. The trade was a 11.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Mark F. Lamps sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $32,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,194,400. This trade represents a 1.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 16,924 shares of company stock worth $1,599,200. Insiders own 1.99% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atkore

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ATKR. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB increased its stake in Atkore by 55.2% in the fourth quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 318,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,569,000 after acquiring an additional 113,263 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Atkore during the 3rd quarter valued at about $7,916,000. Chase Investment Counsel Corp raised its holdings in shares of Atkore by 97.0% during the 3rd quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 13,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,101,000 after buying an additional 6,400 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its stake in Atkore by 729.5% in the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 27,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,358,000 after buying an additional 24,476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G PLC purchased a new stake in Atkore in the third quarter worth approximately $9,123,000.

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.