Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR) Short Interest Down 6.0% in January

Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR - Get Free Report) saw a large decline in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,350,000 shares, a decline of 6.0% from the January 15th total of 2,500,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 737,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days. Approximately 7.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Atkore Trading Down 2.4 %

ATKR traded down $1.59 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $65.68. 571,197 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 733,570. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $79.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.57. Atkore has a 52-week low of $62.62 and a 52-week high of $194.98. 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 market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a PE ratio of 6.36 and a beta of 2.12.

Atkore (NYSE:ATKR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.45. Atkore had a return on equity of 25.69% and a net margin of 12.42%. The business had revenue of $661.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $680.77 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.12 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Atkore will post 5.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atkore Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Atkore's payout ratio is currently 12.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ATKR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed 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. Roth Mkm initiated coverage on Atkore in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $100.00 target price on the stock. B. Riley downgraded Atkore from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the company from $135.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Loop Capital downgraded Atkore from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the company from $115.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Roth Capital raised Atkore to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $103.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Atkore news, insider Mark F. Lamps sold 500 shares of Atkore stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $32,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,194,400. The trade was a 1.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Daniel S. Kelly sold 13,071 shares of Atkore stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.74, for a total value of $1,251,417.54. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 16,924 shares of company stock valued at $1,599,200. Corporate insiders own 1.99% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atkore

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Gates Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Atkore by 29.6% in the fourth quarter. Gates Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,607,354 shares of the company's stock worth $217,584,000 after acquiring an additional 595,774 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Atkore by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,368,867 shares of the company's stock valued at $111,467,000 after purchasing an additional 134,517 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Atkore by 195.6% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,174,464 shares of the company's stock worth $98,009,000 after purchasing an additional 777,113 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Atkore by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,090,817 shares of the company's stock worth $91,028,000 after purchasing an additional 6,234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management increased its stake in Atkore by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 924,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,116,000 after purchasing an additional 180,160 shares in the last quarter.

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.