Encore Wire Co. (NASDAQ:WIRE) Short Interest Update

Encore Wire Co. (NASDAQ:WIRE) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,060,000 shares, a decrease of 64.7% from the April 15th total of 3,000,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 289,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days. Approximately 7.2% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Encore Wire

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Encore Wire in the first quarter valued at about $217,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Encore Wire during the first quarter valued at about $617,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Encore Wire by 406.8% during the first quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 17,130 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $4,501,000 after acquiring an additional 13,750 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its holdings in Encore Wire by 10.3% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 5,043 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,325,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Encore Wire in the first quarter valued at approximately $593,000. 99.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Encore Wire Stock Up 0.0 %

WIRE traded up $0.06 during trading on Friday, reaching $280.42. 28,522 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 253,661. Encore Wire has a fifty-two week low of $150.51 and a fifty-two week high of $295.90. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $259.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $225.59. The company has a market capitalization of $4.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.87 and a beta of 1.28.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $632.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $579.64 million. Encore Wire had a return on equity of 17.77% and a net margin of 12.45%. Encore Wire’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.50 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Encore Wire will post 21.24 EPS for the current year.

Encore Wire Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 19th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th were paid a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.03%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 4th. Encore Wire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 0.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WIRE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson downgraded shares of Encore Wire from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $295.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Sidoti reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $290.00 target price on shares of Encore Wire in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Encore Wire in a report on Friday, May 3rd. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, CJS Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Encore Wire in a research report on Friday, April 19th.

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.