Preformed Line Products (NASDAQ:PLPC) Short Interest Up 76.4% in March

Preformed Line Products (NASDAQ:PLPC - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 100,000 shares, a growth of 76.4% from the March 15th total of 56,700 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 29,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days. Approximately 3.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Preformed Line Products

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Preformed Line Products by 160.8% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 49,057 shares of the technology company's stock worth $6,269,000 after acquiring an additional 30,245 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Preformed Line Products in the 4th quarter worth about $1,764,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Preformed Line Products during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,712,000. Royce & Associates LP raised its holdings in shares of Preformed Line Products by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 314,094 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $40,138,000 after buying an additional 9,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pullen Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Preformed Line Products by 128.4% in the 1st quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 10,820 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,516,000 after buying an additional 6,082 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.19% of the company's stock.

Preformed Line Products Stock Performance

Shares of PLPC stock traded down $3.44 during trading on Friday, reaching $136.91. 25,016 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,976. Preformed Line Products has a 1 year low of $109.01 and a 1 year high of $154.90. The company has a market capitalization of $676.47 million, a P/E ratio of 20.56 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm's 50-day moving average is $136.92 and its 200 day moving average is $133.30.

Preformed Line Products (NASDAQ:PLPC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The technology company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter. Preformed Line Products had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 5.76%. The company had revenue of $167.12 million during the quarter.

Preformed Line Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Preformed Line Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised Preformed Line Products from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th.

Preformed Line Products Company Profile

Preformed Line Products Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs and manufactures products and systems that are used in the construction and maintenance of overhead, ground-mounted, and underground networks for the energy, telecommunication, cable, data communication, and other industries. The company offers optical ground wire products to support, protect, terminate, and splice transmission and distribution lines, as well as bolted, welded, and compressed connectors for substations; and string hardware products, polymer insulators, wildlife protection, substation fittings, and motion control devices.