Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,160,000 shares, an increase of 16.8% from the February 13th total of 1,850,000 shares. Approximately 6.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 659,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.3 days.

Atkore Price Performance

NYSE:ATKR traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $66.46. The stock had a trading volume of 11,453 shares, compared to its average volume of 664,820. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 3.03. Atkore has a one year low of $55.91 and a one year high of $194.98. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $72.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.43 and a beta of 2.22.

Atkore (NYSE:ATKR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.45. Atkore had a return on equity of 25.69% and a net margin of 12.42%. The firm had revenue of $661.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $680.77 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.12 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Atkore will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Atkore Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. Atkore’s payout ratio is currently 12.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on ATKR. Roth Mkm began coverage on Atkore in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $100.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp dropped their price target on Atkore from $105.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Roth Capital upgraded Atkore to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Loop Capital downgraded Atkore from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $115.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, B. Riley downgraded Atkore from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $135.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Mark F. Lamps sold 500 shares of Atkore stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $32,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Atkore

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Gates Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Atkore by 29.6% in the fourth quarter. Gates Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,607,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,584,000 after purchasing an additional 595,774 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Atkore by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,368,867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,467,000 after buying an additional 134,517 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Atkore by 195.6% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,174,464 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,009,000 after purchasing an additional 777,113 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Atkore by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,090,817 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,028,000 after acquiring an additional 6,234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in Atkore by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 924,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,116,000 after acquiring an additional 180,160 shares in the last quarter.

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.