Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR) Short Interest Update

Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in 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. Currently, 6.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 659,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Mark F. Lamps sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $32,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,194,400. This trade represents a 1.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.99% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atkore

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ATKR. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its stake in shares of Atkore by 46.7% during the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 19,804 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,678,000 after acquiring an additional 6,300 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Atkore by 5.6% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,984 shares of the company's stock worth $1,439,000 after buying an additional 896 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in Atkore by 78.7% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 8,235 shares of the company's stock worth $698,000 after buying an additional 3,627 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Atkore during the third quarter worth $143,000. Finally, Factorial Partners LLC raised its stake in Atkore by 15.5% during the third quarter. Factorial Partners LLC now owns 17,900 shares of the company's stock worth $1,517,000 after buying an additional 2,400 shares during the last quarter.

Atkore Price Performance

NYSE:ATKR traded down $1.00 on Friday, hitting $62.93. The company had a trading volume of 2,777,124 shares, compared to its average volume of 678,181. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $71.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 2.22. Atkore has a 52 week low of $55.91 and a 52 week high of $194.98. The company has a current ratio of 3.03, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Atkore (NYSE:ATKR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $661.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $680.77 million. Atkore had a net margin of 12.42% and a return on equity of 25.69%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.12 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Atkore will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Atkore Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Atkore's payout ratio is currently 12.39%.

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.