Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 289,010 Shares of Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR - Free Report) by 85.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 47,825 shares of the company's stock after selling 289,010 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of Atkore worth $4,053,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ATKR. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Atkore by 445.6% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 491 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 401 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Atkore by 48.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 634 shares of the company's stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Atkore by 63.7% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,002 shares of the company's stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Atkore by 829.9% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 902 shares of the company's stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 805 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. bought a new position in Atkore in the 3rd quarter valued at about $126,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Daniel S. Kelly sold 13,071 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.74, for a total transaction of $1,251,417.54. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 27,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,635,530.72. The trade was a 32.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeri L. Isbell sold 3,353 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.03, for a total value of $315,282.59. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,585 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,405,757.55. This trade represents a 11.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,924 shares of company stock valued at $1,614,975 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.99% of the company's stock.

Atkore Stock Up 2.5 %

Atkore stock traded up $2.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $83.44. 446,954 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 431,077. Atkore Inc. has a 52 week low of $76.01 and a 52 week high of $194.98. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.61 and a beta of 2.10. The business's 50 day moving average is $88.61 and its 200 day moving average is $100.31.

Atkore (NYSE:ATKR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.08 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $788.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $749.49 million. Atkore had a return on equity of 32.14% and a net margin of 14.77%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.63 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Atkore Inc. will post 6.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Atkore Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. Atkore's payout ratio is currently 10.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Atkore from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated 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. Roth Mkm started coverage on Atkore in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $100.00 price objective on the stock. Roth Capital raised shares of Atkore to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Atkore from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $115.67.

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.