Franklin Resources Inc. Cuts Stake in Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its holdings in Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR) by 85.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,247 shares of the company’s stock after selling 138,487 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.07% of Atkore worth $2,106,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Atkore by 445.6% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 491 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its stake in Atkore by 48.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 634 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Atkore by 63.7% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,002 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its stake in Atkore by 829.9% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 805 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Atkore in the third quarter valued at about $126,000.

Atkore Stock Up 0.8 %

ATKR opened at $83.90 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $89.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $102.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.64 and a beta of 2.10. Atkore Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $76.01 and a fifty-two week high of $194.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.98.

Atkore (NYSE:ATKR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by ($0.06). Atkore had a return on equity of 32.14% and a net margin of 14.77%. The business had revenue of $788.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $749.49 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.63 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Atkore Inc. will post 6.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Atkore Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Atkore’s payout ratio is presently 10.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Daniel S. Kelly sold 13,071 shares of Atkore stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.74, for a total value of $1,251,417.54. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 27,528 shares in the company, valued at $2,635,530.72. This trade represents a 32.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Mark F. Lamps sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $48,275.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 27,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,667,290.30. This trade represents a 1.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 16,924 shares of company stock worth $1,614,975. Company insiders own 1.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ATKR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. B. Riley lowered Atkore from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $135.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Roth Capital raised shares of Atkore to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $102.00 target price (up previously from $93.00) on shares of Atkore in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Roth Mkm initiated coverage on shares of Atkore in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price target on Atkore from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.67.

Atkore Company Profile

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.