Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Reduces Stake in Encore Wire Co. (NASDAQ:WIRE)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its holdings in Encore Wire Co. (NASDAQ:WIRE) by 0.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,685 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 49 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Encore Wire were worth $1,634,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WIRE. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its position in shares of Encore Wire by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 414 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its holdings in Encore Wire by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 5,330 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,138,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. FCG Investment Co boosted its holdings in Encore Wire by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. FCG Investment Co now owns 1,297 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $341,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Encore Wire by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 4,104 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $877,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its position in shares of Encore Wire by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 10,213 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $2,181,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 99.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WIRE. DA Davidson cut shares of Encore Wire from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $295.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. CJS Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Encore Wire in a report on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Encore Wire in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Sidoti reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $290.00 target price on shares of Encore Wire in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th.

Encore Wire Price Performance

Shares of WIRE stock remained flat at $289.84 during trading on Friday. 266 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 540,207. The company has a market capitalization of $4.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.38 and a beta of 1.19. Encore Wire Co. has a 1 year low of $150.51 and a 1 year high of $295.90. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $285.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $252.64.

Encore Wire (NASDAQ:WIRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The electronics maker reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.27. Encore Wire had a return on equity of 17.77% and a net margin of 12.45%. The business had revenue of $632.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $579.64 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.50 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Encore Wire Co. will post 21.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Encore Wire Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 presently 0.42%.

Encore Wire Company Profile

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.