Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR) saw a significant increase in short interest during 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. Based on an average daily volume of 659,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days. Currently, 6.4% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Loop Capital cut Atkore from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $115.00 to $65.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Roth Capital raised Atkore to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $102.00 price target (up from $93.00) on shares of Atkore in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on Atkore from $105.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Roth Mkm began coverage on Atkore in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Atkore has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.17.

Insider Transactions at Atkore

In other news, insider Mark F. Lamps sold 500 shares of the business’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 directly owns 33,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,194,400. The trade was a 1.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.99% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atkore

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

Atkore Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ATKR traded down $0.14 during trading on Thursday, reaching $66.46. 11,453 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 664,820. 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 1-year low of $55.91 and a 1-year high of $194.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $72.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.03. The firm has a market cap of $2.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.43 and a beta of 2.22.

Atkore (NYSE:ATKR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $680.77 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.12 earnings per share. Atkore’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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Atkore’s payout ratio is 12.39%.

Atkore Company Profile

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.