Preformed Line Products (NASDAQ:PLPC) Shares Climb 10.5% – Still a Buy?

Preformed Line Products Company (NASDAQ:PLPC)’s share price was up 10.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The company traded as high as $307.50 and last traded at $307.94. 76,012 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 33% from the average daily volume of 113,442 shares. The stock had previously closed at $278.68.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PLPC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Preformed Line Products from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings cut Preformed Line Products from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Freedom Capital raised Preformed Line Products from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy” and an average price target of $275.00.

Preformed Line Products Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.95 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $381.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $342.53.

Preformed Line Products (NASDAQ:PLPC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The technology company reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.37 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $209.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $215.00 million. Preformed Line Products had a net margin of 7.58% and a return on equity of 11.96%.

Preformed Line Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 1st were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Preformed Line Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.05%.

Institutional Trading of Preformed Line Products

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA acquired a new stake in Preformed Line Products in the 3rd quarter valued at about $200,000. Heritage Family Offices LLP bought a new position in shares of Preformed Line Products during the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. Vise Technologies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Preformed Line Products by 23.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 1,307 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $532,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Preformed Line Products by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 5,025 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,046,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ascent Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Preformed Line Products in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $489,000. 41.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Preformed Line Products Company Profile

Preformed Line Products Company (NASDAQ: PLPC) designs and manufactures products and systems used to construct, maintain and protect overhead and underground networks. The company serves the telecommunications, energy, data communications, cable television, renewable energy and transportation markets.

Its product portfolio includes formed-wire products, fiber-optic cable hardware, connectors, splicing and closure systems, protective devices, enclosures and other network-infrastructure components.