Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR) Short Interest Update

Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,580,000 shares, a decline of 31.3% from the April 30th total of 2,300,000 shares. Currently, 4.8% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 580,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ATKR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Loop Capital downgraded Atkore from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $115.00 to $65.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Atkore from $78.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. KeyCorp upped their price target on Atkore from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Atkore from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Atkore from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.57.

Insider Activity at Atkore

In related news, insider Mark F. Lamps sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.16, for a total value of $69,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,270,384.48. This represents a 2.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atkore

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATKR. Van Den Berg Management I Inc. grew its stake in shares of Atkore by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Van Den Berg Management I Inc. now owns 41,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,425,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Isthmus Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Atkore by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 21,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,789,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. grew its stake in shares of Atkore by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 2,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Willis Investment Counsel grew its stake in shares of Atkore by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 5,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Atkore by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 21,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,782,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period.

Atkore Stock Performance

Atkore stock traded down $1.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $65.08. 279,595 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 678,767. Atkore has a one year low of $49.92 and a one year high of $153.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 3.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $62.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.83. The company has a market cap of $2.19 billion, a PE ratio of 6.30 and a beta of 2.10.

Atkore (NYSE:ATKR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.52. Atkore had a return on equity of 25.69% and a net margin of 12.42%. The business had revenue of $701.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $690.83 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.08 earnings per share. Atkore’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Atkore will post 5.79 EPS for the current year.

Atkore Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a $0.33 dividend. This is a boost from Atkore’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. Atkore’s dividend payout ratio is 25.38%.

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.