Preformed Line Products (NASDAQ:PLPC) Shares Gap Down - Time to Sell?

Preformed Line Products (NASDAQ:PLPC - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $142.41, but opened at $138.54. Preformed Line Products shares last traded at $138.32, with a volume of 19,355 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Preformed Line Products Trading Up 1.2 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $137.26 and a 200 day moving average of $133.08. The company has a market cap of $693.47 million, a P/E ratio of 21.07 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.

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

Preformed Line Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Preformed Line Products's payout ratio is 10.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Preformed Line Products

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pullen Investment Management LLC increased 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 valued at $1,516,000 after buying an additional 6,082 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Preformed Line Products by 1.5% during the first quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 6,574 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $921,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Preformed Line Products by 30,720.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,082 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $432,000 after acquiring an additional 3,072 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Preformed Line Products during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,712,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Preformed Line Products by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 8,983 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,149,000 after purchasing an additional 1,098 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.19% of the company's stock.

About Preformed Line Products

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.