Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR) Short Interest Update

Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR) saw a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,890,000 shares, a growth of 8.6% from the November 30th total of 2,660,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 642,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.5 days. Currently, 8.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Atkore Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of Atkore stock traded up $0.75 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $83.45. 323,044 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 625,388. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $88.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $100.82. Atkore has a twelve month low of $76.01 and a twelve month high of $194.98. The stock has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.61 and a beta of 2.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.98.

Atkore (NYSE:ATKR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.08 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $788.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $749.49 million. Atkore had a return on equity of 32.14% and a net margin of 14.77%. The business’s revenue was down 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.63 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Atkore will post 6.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atkore Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Atkore’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atkore

In other news, VP Daniel S. Kelly sold 13,071 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.74, for a total transaction of $1,251,417.54. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 27,528 shares in the company, valued at $2,635,530.72. The trade was a 32.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeri L. Isbell sold 3,353 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.03, for a total transaction of $315,282.59. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 25,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,405,757.55. This trade represents a 11.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 16,924 shares of company stock valued at $1,614,975. Corporate insiders own 1.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Atkore

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Atkore by 445.6% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 491 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 401 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Atkore by 63.7% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,002 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Atkore by 829.9% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 805 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. acquired a new stake in Atkore in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $126,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ATKR. Roth Mkm initiated coverage on Atkore in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective (up from $93.00) on shares of Atkore in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Atkore from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 13th. B. Riley lowered shares of 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 research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Atkore from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.67.

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.