Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Encore Wire Co. (NASDAQ:WIRE)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Encore Wire Co. (NASDAQ:WIRE) by 14.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,249 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Encore Wire were worth $267,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Encore Wire by 69.2% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 203 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Encore Wire during the third quarter valued at about $91,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Encore Wire in the fourth quarter worth about $99,000. Strs Ohio raised its stake in shares of Encore Wire by 40.0% in the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 700 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $149,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Childress Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Encore Wire during the 3rd quarter valued at about $205,000. Institutional investors own 99.82% of the company’s stock.

Encore Wire Price Performance

NASDAQ WIRE opened at $280.36 on Friday. Encore Wire Co. has a 1-year low of $150.51 and a 1-year high of $295.90. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $259.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $225.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.43 billion, a PE ratio of 14.87 and a beta of 1.28.

Encore Wire (NASDAQ:WIRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The electronics maker reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.27. Encore Wire had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 17.77%. The company had revenue of $632.66 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $579.64 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.50 earnings per share. Encore Wire’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Encore Wire Co. will post 21.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Encore Wire Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson lowered shares of Encore Wire from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $295.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Encore Wire in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. CJS Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Encore Wire in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, 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.

Encore Wire Company Profile

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.