StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Encore Wire (NASDAQ:WIRE)

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Encore Wire (NASDAQ:WIRE) in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the electronics maker’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on WIRE. DA Davidson cut shares of Encore Wire from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $295.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Sidoti restated a neutral rating and issued a $290.00 target price on shares of Encore Wire in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, CJS Securities reaffirmed a market perform rating on shares of Encore Wire in a research report on Friday, April 19th.

Encore Wire Stock Performance

Shares of WIRE opened at $283.04 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $255.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $223.27. Encore Wire has a fifty-two week low of $150.51 and a fifty-two week high of $295.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.47 billion, a PE ratio of 15.02 and a beta of 1.28.

Encore Wire (NASDAQ:WIRE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The electronics maker reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.27. Encore Wire had a return on equity of 17.77% and a net margin of 12.45%. The company had revenue of $632.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $579.64 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.50 earnings per share. Encore Wire’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Encore Wire will post 21.24 EPS for the current year.

Encore Wire Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 19th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th were paid a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 4th. Encore Wire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 0.42%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Spire Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Encore Wire by 42.0% in the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 142 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Encore Wire by 69.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 203 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Encore Wire in the fourth quarter worth about $80,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Encore Wire in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $91,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Encore Wire during the 4th quarter worth approximately $99,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.82% of the company’s stock.

About Encore Wire

Encore Wire Corporation engages in manufacture and sale of electrical building wires and cables in the United States. It offers NM-B cables, UF-B cables, THHN/THWN-2, XHHW-2, USE-2, RHH/RHW-2, and other types of wire products, including SEU, SER, photovoltaic, URD, tray cables, metal-clads, and armored cables.