Encore Wire (NASDAQ:WIRE) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Encore Wire (NASDAQ:WIRE) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning.

Separately, DA Davidson decreased their target price on Encore Wire from $250.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 27th.

Encore Wire Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WIRE opened at $172.72 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $167.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $171.19. Encore Wire has a twelve month low of $108.53 and a twelve month high of $206.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a PE ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 1.33.

Encore Wire (NASDAQ:WIRE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 25th. The electronics maker reported $6.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.55 by ($0.54). The company had revenue of $636.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $738.60 million. Encore Wire had a return on equity of 32.05% and a net margin of 20.70%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 24.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $10.71 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Encore Wire will post 21.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Encore Wire Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 5th. Encore Wire’s payout ratio is presently 0.26%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Encore Wire

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WIRE. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Encore Wire by 41.5% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 242 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Encore Wire during the first quarter worth approximately $37,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Encore Wire during the 1st quarter worth $66,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Encore Wire by 231.5% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 358 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of Encore Wire by 33.8% in the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 368 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.82% of the company’s stock.

About Encore Wire

Encore Wire Corporation engages in manufacture and sale of electrical building wires and cables in the United States. The company 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.