Insteel Industries (NASDAQ:IIIN) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Insteel Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:IIIN)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $24.83, but opened at $26.24. Insteel Industries shares last traded at $25.85, with a volume of 19,983 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Insteel Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 26th.

Insteel Industries Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $28.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.08. The company has a market cap of $524.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.14.

Insteel Industries (NASDAQ:IIIN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The industrial products company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $129.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.45 million. Insteel Industries had a return on equity of 5.63% and a net margin of 3.65%. The company’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.06 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Insteel Industries, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insteel Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Insteel Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.12%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Insteel Industries

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp increased its position in Insteel Industries by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 761,492 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $23,675,000 after buying an additional 35,859 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Insteel Industries by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 662,775 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,606,000 after purchasing an additional 22,543 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Insteel Industries by 14.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 467,712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,480,000 after purchasing an additional 59,591 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Insteel Industries by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 434,871 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,523,000 after purchasing an additional 3,612 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Insteel Industries by 132.7% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 407,788 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,678,000 after purchasing an additional 232,514 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.27% of the company’s stock.

About Insteel Industries

Insteel Industries, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets steel wire reinforcing products for concrete construction applications. The company offers prestressed concrete strand (PC strand) and welded wire reinforcement (WWR) products. Its PC strand is a seven-wire strand that is used to impart compression forces into precast concrete elements and structures providing reinforcement for bridges, parking decks, buildings, and other concrete structures.