Apogee Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:APOG) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Apogee Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:APOG - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 762,000 shares, a drop of 17.9% from the December 31st total of 927,700 shares. Currently, 3.5% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 186,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.1 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on APOG shares. Sidoti upgraded Apogee Enterprises from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com lowered Apogee Enterprises from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Singular Research upgraded Apogee Enterprises to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price objective on Apogee Enterprises from $75.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th.

Apogee Enterprises Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:APOG traded down $1.55 during trading on Monday, reaching $49.48. The company had a trading volume of 199,659 shares, compared to its average volume of 338,146. The firm's fifty day moving average is $68.39 and its 200 day moving average is $70.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 11.10 and a beta of 1.01. Apogee Enterprises has a twelve month low of $49.01 and a twelve month high of $87.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.63.

Apogee Enterprises (NASDAQ:APOG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 7th. The industrial products company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.08. Apogee Enterprises had a net margin of 7.14% and a return on equity of 23.14%. The business had revenue of $341.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $332.27 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apogee Enterprises will post 4.97 EPS for the current year.

Apogee Enterprises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 28th. This is a positive change from Apogee Enterprises's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. Apogee Enterprises's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.21%.

Institutional Trading of Apogee Enterprises

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Apogee Enterprises by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 117,770 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $8,410,000 after purchasing an additional 4,373 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in Apogee Enterprises during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $225,000. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Apogee Enterprises by 46.7% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,282 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apogee Enterprises during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $824,000. Finally, Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apogee Enterprises during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 94.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Apogee Enterprises

Apogee Enterprises, Inc provides architectural products and services for enclosing buildings, and glass and acrylic products used for preservation, protection, and enhanced viewing in the United States, Canada, and Brazil. The company operates in four segments: Architectural Framing Systems, Architectural Glass, Architectural Services, and Large-Scale Optical (LSO).