Encore Wire Co. (NASDAQ:WIRE) Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP reduced its position in Encore Wire Co. (NASDAQ:WIRE – Get Rating) by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 80,818 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 11,039 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Encore Wire were worth $9,338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Encore Wire by 71.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 395 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Wipfli Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Encore Wire during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $78,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Encore Wire by 98.1% during the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,757 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $182,000 after acquiring an additional 870 shares in the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Encore Wire during the 1st quarter worth approximately $221,000. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd lifted its position in Encore Wire by 29.7% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 1,842 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $213,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. 99.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Encore Wire Stock Performance

Encore Wire stock opened at $185.05 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $167.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $146.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a PE ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.32. Encore Wire Co. has a one year low of $94.39 and a one year high of $206.74.

Encore Wire (NASDAQ:WIRE – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 15th. The electronics maker reported $8.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.61 by $3.67. The company had revenue of $693.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $631.04 million. Encore Wire had a return on equity of 43.96% and a net margin of 23.79%. Encore Wire’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.91 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Encore Wire Co. will post 19.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Encore Wire Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 5th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.04%. Encore Wire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 0.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Matthew D. Ford sold 2,725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $545,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 34,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,827,600. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Matthew D. Ford sold 2,725 shares of Encore Wire stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $545,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 34,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,827,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Matthew D. Ford sold 275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $55,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,863 shares in the company, valued at $7,372,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, DA Davidson boosted their price target on Encore Wire from $200.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 16th.

Encore Wire Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Encore Wire Corp. engages in manufacturing copper electrical building wire and cable. The firm supplies building wire for interior electrical wiring in commercial and industrial buildings, homes, apartments and manufactured housing. It offers an electric building wire product line that consists primarily of NM-B cable, UF-B cable, THHN/THWN-2 and other types of wire products, including Metal Clad, Armored Cable, Photovoltaic Cable and Bare Copper.