Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR) Shares Sold by Empirical Finance LLC

Empirical Finance LLC decreased its stake in shares of Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR) by 47.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,382 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,094 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Atkore were worth $282,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATKR. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Atkore by 101.0% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,848,000 after purchasing an additional 17,150 shares during the period. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB raised its position in shares of Atkore by 55.2% during the 4th quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 318,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,569,000 after buying an additional 113,263 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its holdings in Atkore by 44.9% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 272,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,777,000 after acquiring an additional 84,584 shares during the last quarter. Willis Investment Counsel grew its position in Atkore by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 5,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $446,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its stake in Atkore by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 296,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,767,000 after acquiring an additional 46,200 shares during the last quarter.

Atkore Trading Up 2.2 %

NYSE ATKR opened at $70.98 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 3.03. The firm has a market cap of $2.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.87 and a beta of 2.12. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.45. Atkore Inc. has a one year low of $62.62 and a one year high of $194.98.

Atkore (NYSE:ATKR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $661.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $680.77 million. Atkore had a net margin of 12.42% and a return on equity of 25.69%. The firm’s revenue was down 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.12 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Atkore Inc. will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atkore Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. Atkore’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atkore

In other news, insider Mark F. Lamps sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $32,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,194,400. This trade represents a 1.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jeri L. Isbell sold 3,353 shares of Atkore stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.03, for a total transaction of $315,282.59. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 25,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,405,757.55. This trade represents a 11.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,924 shares of company stock valued at $1,599,200 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Roth Mkm began coverage on Atkore in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. B. Riley cut shares of Atkore from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $135.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Loop Capital cut shares of Atkore from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $115.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Monday. Roth Capital upgraded shares of Atkore to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $102.00 target price (up previously from $93.00) on shares of Atkore in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atkore currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.17.

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.