Sidoti Reaffirms Neutral Rating for Encore Wire (NASDAQ:WIRE)

Encore Wire (NASDAQ:WIRE)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at Sidoti in a research report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $290.00 price objective on the electronics maker’s stock. Sidoti’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 0.02% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Encore Wire from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $295.00 target price on shares of Encore Wire in a research report on Tuesday.

Encore Wire Price Performance

WIRE stock traded down $1.28 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $289.95. 867,763 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 229,390. The firm has a market cap of $4.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.54 and a beta of 1.31. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $240.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $213.22. Encore Wire has a 1-year low of $138.20 and a 1-year high of $295.90.

Encore Wire (NASDAQ:WIRE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The electronics maker reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.05. Encore Wire had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 20.92%. The business had revenue of $633.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $601.48 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $8.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Encore Wire will post 16.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Encore Wire

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WIRE. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Encore Wire by 1,243.9% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 618,565 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $7,788,000 after purchasing an additional 572,539 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Encore Wire during the fourth quarter worth about $25,846,000. Seizert Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Encore Wire during the third quarter worth about $24,143,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Encore Wire by 364.9% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 150,871 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $20,754,000 after purchasing an additional 118,416 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management raised its stake in Encore Wire by 21.6% during the third quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 574,828 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $104,883,000 after purchasing an additional 102,062 shares during the period. 99.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.