Clearbridge Investments LLC Purchases 89,203 Shares of Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB)

Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB – Get Rating) by 12.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 824,810 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 89,203 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 1.34% of Photronics worth $13,882,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Photronics by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 161,818 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,723,000 after purchasing an additional 12,617 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP bought a new stake in Photronics in the 4th quarter valued at $2,613,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Photronics by 34.6% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 117,628 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,124,000 after purchasing an additional 30,268 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Photronics by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 401,908 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,764,000 after purchasing an additional 5,577 shares during the period. Finally, Skylands Capital LLC boosted its stake in Photronics by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Skylands Capital LLC now owns 213,850 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,599,000 after purchasing an additional 24,500 shares during the period. 90.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Photronics Price Performance

Photronics stock opened at $20.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 3.25 and a current ratio of 3.89. Photronics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $13.86 and a 52 week high of $25.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.18 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $15.81 and a 200-day moving average of $17.16.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 24th. The semiconductor company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.10. Photronics had a return on equity of 11.09% and a net margin of 14.04%. The company had revenue of $229.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $211.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. Photronics’s revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Photronics, Inc. will post 1.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PLAB. StockNews.com began coverage on Photronics in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Northland Securities upped their target price on Photronics from $18.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Thursday. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Photronics in a research report on Tuesday, April 11th.

Photronics Company Profile

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Photronics, Inc engages in the provision of photomasks. It manufactures semiconductors and flat-panel displays and is used as masters to transfer circuit patterns onto semiconductor wafers and FPD substrates during the fabrication of integrated circuits, a variety of FPDs and other types of electrical and optical components.