Atkore (NYSE:ATKR) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday after Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on the stock from $64.00 to $65.00. The stock had previously closed at $56.73, but opened at $62.32. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the stock. Atkore shares last traded at $60.46, with a volume of 68,865 shares trading hands.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on ATKR. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Atkore from $78.00 to $66.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on Atkore from $80.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Loop Capital cut shares of Atkore from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $115.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.00.

Insider Transactions at Atkore

In other Atkore news, insider Mark F. Lamps sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $32,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,194,400. This trade represents a 1.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.99% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atkore

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Atkore by 50.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 70,736 shares of the company's stock worth $5,994,000 after purchasing an additional 23,628 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Atkore in the third quarter worth $867,000. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in Atkore by 38.7% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 23,744 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,012,000 after buying an additional 6,628 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Atkore by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 107,399 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,965,000 after acquiring an additional 4,869 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Matrix Trust Co lifted its holdings in Atkore by 657.7% in the 4th quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 2,129 shares of the company's stock worth $178,000 after purchasing an additional 1,848 shares during the last quarter.

Atkore Trading Up 9.7 %

The company has a current ratio of 3.03, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company's fifty day moving average is $61.96 and its 200-day moving average is $77.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.04 and a beta of 2.02.

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

Atkore Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. Atkore's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.

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