Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Encore Wire Co. (NASDAQ:WIRE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Encore Wire Co. (NASDAQ:WIRE – Get Rating) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 120,831 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 3,093 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Encore Wire were worth $16,622,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Encore Wire by 41.5% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 242 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in Encore Wire by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 12,377 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,703,000 after purchasing an additional 1,910 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Encore Wire in the 4th quarter worth approximately $356,000. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Encore Wire by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 13,891 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,911,000 after purchasing an additional 1,288 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Encore Wire by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 28,857 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $3,970,000 after purchasing an additional 4,185 shares during the period. 99.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Encore Wire Stock Performance

WIRE opened at $160.00 on Wednesday. Encore Wire Co. has a 52-week low of $94.39 and a 52-week high of $206.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a PE ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 1.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $167.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $161.12.

Encore Wire (NASDAQ:WIRE – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 25th. The electronics maker reported $6.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.44 by $1.06. Encore Wire had a return on equity of 39.17% and a net margin of 22.87%. The firm had revenue of $660.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $684.01 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $7.96 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Encore Wire Co. will post 22.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Encore Wire Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 21st. Investors of record on Friday, July 7th will be given a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 6th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.05%. Encore Wire’s dividend payout ratio is presently 0.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Encore Wire in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Encore Wire from $200.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 16th.

Encore Wire Profile

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Encore Wire Corp. engages in manufacturing copper electrical building wire and cable. It supplies building wire for interior electrical wiring in commercial and industrial buildings, homes, apartments and manufactured housing. The company was founded by Vincent A. Rego in 1989 and is headquartered in McKinney, TX.