Nomura Holdings Inc. Makes New Investment in Encore Wire Co. (NASDAQ:WIRE)

Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Encore Wire Co. (NASDAQ:WIRE) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 2,103 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $449,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its holdings in Encore Wire by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 5,330 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $1,138,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Encore Wire by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 4,104 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $877,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its position in Encore Wire by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 10,213 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $2,181,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its holdings in Encore Wire by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 1,516 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its position in Encore Wire by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 1,465 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $313,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.82% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on WIRE shares. CJS Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Encore Wire in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Sidoti reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $290.00 price target on shares of Encore Wire in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Encore Wire in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, DA Davidson cut shares of Encore Wire from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $295.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th.

Encore Wire Price Performance

WIRE stock opened at $289.40 on Friday. Encore Wire Co. has a 1-year low of $150.51 and a 1-year high of $295.90. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $284.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $246.86. The company has a market capitalization of $4.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.35 and a beta of 1.23.

Encore Wire (NASDAQ:WIRE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The electronics maker reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $632.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $579.64 million. Encore Wire had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 17.77%. Encore Wire’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.50 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Encore Wire Co. will post 21.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Encore Wire Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.03%. Encore Wire’s payout ratio is 0.42%.

About Encore Wire

Encore Wire Corporation engages in manufacture and sale of electrical building wires and cables in the United States. It offers NM-B cables, UF-B cables, THHN/THWN-2, XHHW-2, USE-2, RHH/RHW-2, and other types of wire products, including SEU, SER, photovoltaic, URD, tray cables, metal-clads, and armored cables.