ATS Co. (NYSE:ATS) Short Interest Up 6.5% in September

ATS Co. (NYSE:ATS) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,460,000 shares, a growth of 6.5% from the August 31st total of 2,310,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 104,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 23.6 days. Currently, 2.5% of the company’s shares are sold short.

ATS Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ATS traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $29.10. The stock had a trading volume of 39,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 104,353. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. ATS has a twelve month low of $24.82 and a twelve month high of $44.70. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.99. The firm has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a PE ratio of 19.88 and a beta of 1.17.

ATS (NYSE:ATS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $507.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $502.41 million. ATS had a net margin of 6.11% and a return on equity of 14.63%. On average, research analysts predict that ATS will post 1.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of ATS

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in ATS by 91.5% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 1,574 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of ATS by 37.7% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 4,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,000 after acquiring an additional 1,140 shares in the last quarter. Steph & Co. increased its position in shares of ATS by 133.6% in the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 6,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,000 after acquiring an additional 3,554 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in ATS during the second quarter worth about $286,000. Finally, Dynasty Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in ATS during the first quarter valued at approximately $337,000. 75.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on ATS. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of ATS from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of ATS from $36.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, ATS presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.00.

ATS Company Profile

ATS Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides automation solutions worldwide. The company is also involved in planning, designing, building, commissioning, and servicing automated manufacturing and assembly systems, including automation products and test solutions. In addition, it offers pre-automation services comprising discovery and analysis, concept development, simulation, and total cost of ownership modelling; post automation services, including training, process optimization, preventative maintenance, emergency and on-call support, spare parts, retooling, retrofits, and equipment relocation; and contract manufacturing services, as well as after sales and services.