Encore Wire (NASDAQ:WIRE) Now Covered by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Encore Wire (NASDAQ:WIRE) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the electronics maker’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on WIRE. DA Davidson lowered Encore Wire from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $295.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Sidoti restated a neutral rating and issued a $290.00 price target on shares of Encore Wire in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, CJS Securities restated a market perform rating on shares of Encore Wire in a research note on Friday, April 19th.

Encore Wire Stock Performance

Shares of Encore Wire stock opened at $284.89 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $249.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $219.53. Encore Wire has a 52-week low of $146.36 and a 52-week high of $295.90. The firm has a market cap of $4.50 billion, a PE ratio of 15.11 and a beta of 1.31.

Encore Wire (NASDAQ:WIRE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The electronics maker reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.27. Encore Wire had a return on equity of 17.77% and a net margin of 12.45%. The business had revenue of $632.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $579.64 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.50 EPS. Encore Wire’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Encore Wire will post 21.23 EPS for the current year.

Encore Wire Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th were paid a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.03%. Encore Wire’s dividend payout ratio is 0.42%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WIRE. LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of Encore Wire by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 574,828 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $104,883,000 after acquiring an additional 102,062 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Encore Wire by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 472,555 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $100,938,000 after acquiring an additional 45,863 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Encore Wire by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 310,950 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $56,736,000 after acquiring an additional 22,235 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Encore Wire by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 219,336 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $40,020,000 after acquiring an additional 3,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Encore Wire by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 133,841 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $28,588,000 after acquiring an additional 11,405 shares during the last quarter. 99.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Encore Wire

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.