Atkore (NYSE:ATKR) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR) shares gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $57.94, but opened at $61.33. Atkore shares last traded at $61.9350, with a volume of 7,283 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATKR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Roth Capital decreased their price target on Atkore from $67.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Citigroup cut their target price on Atkore from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Atkore in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Atkore from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.00.

Atkore Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.85 and a beta of 2.12. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.00. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 3.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Atkore (NYSE:ATKR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.61). Atkore had a return on equity of 16.16% and a net margin of 3.89%.The business had revenue of $752.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $733.61 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.43 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Atkore Inc. will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atkore Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. Atkore’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -253.85%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Mark F. Lamps sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.75, for a total transaction of $64,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 29,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,937,514.25. This represents a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atkore

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gates Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Atkore by 25.2% in the 1st quarter. Gates Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,265,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,871,000 after acquiring an additional 657,707 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Atkore during the third quarter worth about $36,525,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in Atkore during the third quarter worth about $21,214,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in Atkore in the 2nd quarter worth about $21,453,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Atkore by 109.2% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 535,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,756,000 after buying an additional 279,385 shares during the last quarter.

Atkore Company Profile

Atkore Inc engages in the manufacture and sale of electrical, mechanical, safety, and infrastructure products and solutions in the United States and internationally. The company offers conduits, cables, and installation accessories. It also designs and manufactures protection and reliability solutions for critical infrastructure, such as metal framing, mechanical pipe, perimeter security, and cable management.