Short Interest in Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR) Decreases By 6.2%

Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,960,000 shares, a decline of 6.2% from the August 31st total of 4,220,000 shares. Currently, 11.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 827,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.8 days.

Atkore Stock Down 1.4 %

ATKR traded down $1.16 on Tuesday, reaching $83.58. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 178,231 shares, compared to its average volume of 620,229. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 3.26 and a quick ratio of 2.03. The business’s 50 day moving average is $99.15 and its 200 day moving average is $137.50. Atkore has a 1 year low of $80.11 and a 1 year high of $194.98. The stock has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 2.14.

Atkore (NYSE:ATKR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $3.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.52 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $822.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $830.16 million. Atkore had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 36.96%. Atkore’s revenue was down 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.13 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Atkore will post 12.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atkore Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. Atkore’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.98%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Mark F. Lamps sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.47, for a total transaction of $47,735.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 28,086 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,681,370.42. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.56% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atkore

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in Atkore by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $831,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC grew its position in Atkore by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 1,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $316,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in shares of Atkore by 486.5% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 16,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,652,000 after buying an additional 13,705 shares in the last quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Atkore by 45,133.3% during the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,000 after acquiring an additional 1,354 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atkore during the 4th quarter worth $674,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Atkore from $160.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 20th. B. Riley lowered their target price on Atkore from $183.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of Atkore from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut Atkore from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $175.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atkore presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.60.

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.