Insteel Industries, Inc. (NYSE:IIIN) Short Interest Up 77.4% in April

Insteel Industries, Inc. (NYSE:IIIN) saw a large growth in short interest in April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totaling 764,753 shares, a growth of 77.4% from the April 15th total of 431,140 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 442,893 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days. Approximately 4.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IIIN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research cut Insteel Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings cut Insteel Industries from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Insteel Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

Insteel Industries Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE IIIN opened at $25.73 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $499.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.80, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.36. Insteel Industries has a 52-week low of $24.35 and a 52-week high of $41.64.

Insteel Industries (NYSE:IIIN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by ($0.53). Insteel Industries had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 6.16%.The company had revenue of $172.65 million during the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Insteel Industries will post 1.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insteel Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Insteel Industries’s payout ratio is currently 5.50%.

Insider Activity at Insteel Industries

In other news, COO Richard Wagner sold 1,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.67, for a total value of $63,247.93. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,506,800. The trade was a 4.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 6.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Insteel Industries by 43.8% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 31,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,063,000 after buying an additional 9,639 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Insteel Industries by 49.1% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 116,990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,932,000 after buying an additional 38,547 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Insteel Industries by 37.6% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 106,940 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,594,000 after buying an additional 29,200 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Insteel Industries by 7.4% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 75,672 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,543,000 after buying an additional 5,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Insteel Industries by 97.1% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 22,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $760,000 after buying an additional 11,138 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.27% of the company’s stock.

About Insteel Industries

Insteel Industries, Inc is a leading manufacturer of steel wire reinforcing products used in concrete construction. The company specializes in the design, fabrication and distribution of welded-wire reinforcement, cut-and-bent reinforcement and related accessories for concrete walls, floors and columns. Its products are employed across residential, commercial and infrastructure projects, providing structural strength and dimensional stability in poured concrete applications.

Key product lines include truss mats—prefabricated, ladder-like assemblies of welded wire designed for rapid placement—and custom cut-and-bent wire assemblies that meet specific engineering requirements.