Park Aerospace (NYSE:PKE) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Park Aerospace Corp. (NYSE:PKE)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $38.28 and last traded at $37.8210, with a volume of 42236 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $37.52.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on PKE. Citizens Jmp began coverage on Park Aerospace in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. They set a “market outperform” rating and a $42.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Park Aerospace from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 14th. Citigroup started coverage on Park Aerospace in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Park Aerospace from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $42.00.

Park Aerospace Stock Up 0.7%

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $33.73 and a 200 day moving average of $28.32. The stock has a market cap of $789.26 million, a PE ratio of 67.50 and a beta of 0.42.

Park Aerospace (NYSE:PKE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The semiconductor company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.03. Park Aerospace had a return on equity of 10.08% and a net margin of 15.38%.The company had revenue of $24.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.31 million.

Park Aerospace Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be given a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 1st. Park Aerospace’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Park Aerospace

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Park Aerospace in the 1st quarter valued at about $14,926,000. Next Century Growth Investors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Park Aerospace by 93.0% in the 4th quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC now owns 526,054 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $11,226,000 after acquiring an additional 253,508 shares during the last quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Park Aerospace during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,984,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Park Aerospace by 116.2% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 263,034 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $7,202,000 after purchasing an additional 141,359 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its position in Park Aerospace by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 3,191,411 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $68,105,000 after purchasing an additional 107,231 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.83% of the company’s stock.

Park Aerospace Company Profile

Park Aerospace (NYSE: PKE) is a specialized materials and manufacturing company that designs, develops and produces high-performance composite structures, engineered laminates and specialty adhesives for aerospace, defense and industrial markets. Its product portfolio includes advanced honeycomb cores, composite assemblies, dielectric and high-reliability circuit materials, as well as structural and bonding solutions that meet demanding performance and weight requirements.

The company operates through two principal segments.