Wall Street Zen Downgrades Optical Cable (NASDAQ:OCC) to Hold

Optical Cable (NASDAQ:OCC) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Optical Cable in a research note on Friday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Sell”.

Optical Cable Stock Performance

OCC opened at $14.41 on Friday. Optical Cable has a fifty-two week low of $4.02 and a fifty-two week high of $27.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 2.08 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.24 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 120.09 and a beta of 0.54. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $16.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.78.

Optical Cable (NASDAQ:OCC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, June 8th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $22.21 million during the quarter. Optical Cable had a net margin of 1.29% and a return on equity of 5.92%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.09) earnings per share.

Insider Activity at Optical Cable

In related news, CFO Tracy G. Smith sold 16,453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.23, for a total value of $283,485.19. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 329,826 shares in the company, valued at $5,682,901.98. This represents a 4.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 22.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Optical Cable by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 268,932 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,197,000 after purchasing an additional 4,497 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of Optical Cable during the third quarter worth $487,000. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Optical Cable by 8.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 124,769 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $348,000 after buying an additional 9,535 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Optical Cable by 162.0% during the third quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 33,013 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 20,413 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in Optical Cable during the fourth quarter worth $210,000. Institutional investors own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

About Optical Cable

Optical Cable Corporation (NASDAQ: OCC) is a publicly traded designer and manufacturer of optical fiber and copper communications cable solutions. Headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, the company develops a broad range of standard and custom cable assemblies, connectors, hardware and accessories. Its product portfolio addresses data transmission requirements in demanding environments, including long-haul telecommunications, industrial automation, defense systems and submersible applications.

The company’s offerings are organized across multiple product lines, encompassing outside-plant fiber optic cable for aerial and underground installations, indoor/outdoor copper connectivity and specialty engineered cable assemblies.