Preformed Line Products (NASDAQ:PLPC) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Preformed Line Products (NASDAQ:PLPC - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 36,400 shares, an increase of 64.7% from the January 15th total of 22,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 19,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days. Approximately 1.2% of the company's shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Preformed Line Products from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th.

Preformed Line Products Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ PLPC traded down $2.21 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $140.73. 14,720 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 37,000. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $133.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $127.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $689.58 million, a P/E ratio of 21.13 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 2.81. Preformed Line Products has a twelve month low of $109.01 and a twelve month high of $154.90.

Preformed Line Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 7th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Preformed Line Products's dividend payout ratio is currently 12.01%.

Institutional Trading of Preformed Line Products

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PLPC. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Preformed Line Products in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $103,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Preformed Line Products in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $119,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in Preformed Line Products by 28.7% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,409 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $180,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Preformed Line Products by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,371 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings in Preformed Line Products by 62.4% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 2,554 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 981 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.19% of the company's stock.

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.