Zacks Research Upgrades Optical Cable (NASDAQ:OCC) to Hold

Optical Cable (NASDAQ:OCC) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on OCC. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Optical Cable from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Optical Cable in a report on Friday, July 17th. One equities 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, Optical Cable presently has an average rating of “Reduce”.

Optical Cable Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:OCC opened at $13.84 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.21 million, a PE ratio of 115.34 and a beta of 0.55. Optical Cable has a twelve month low of $4.02 and a twelve month high of $27.98. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $16.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.55.

Optical Cable (NASDAQ:OCC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, June 8th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $22.21 million during the quarter. Optical Cable had a net margin of 1.29% and a return on equity of 5.92%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.09) EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Optical Cable will post 0.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Optical Cable news, CFO Tracy G. Smith sold 16,453 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.23, for a total value of $283,485.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 329,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,682,901.98. This trade represents a 4.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 22.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Optical Cable

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sei Investments Co. bought a new position in Optical Cable in the 1st quarter worth about $754,000. Shikiar Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Optical Cable by 14.4% during the first quarter. Shikiar Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,150 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 3,550 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Optical Cable by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 268,932 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,197,000 after purchasing an additional 4,497 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Optical Cable in the third quarter worth approximately $487,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Optical Cable by 8.3% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 124,769 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 9,535 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Optical Cable Company Profile

Optical Cable Corporation (NASDAQ: OCC) is a publicly traded designer and manufacturer of optical fiber and copper communications cable solutions. Headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, the company develops a broad range of standard and custom cable assemblies, connectors, hardware and accessories. Its product portfolio addresses data transmission requirements in demanding environments, including long-haul telecommunications, industrial automation, defense systems and submersible applications.

The company’s offerings are organized across multiple product lines, encompassing outside-plant fiber optic cable for aerial and underground installations, indoor/outdoor copper connectivity and specialty engineered cable assemblies.