Sunbelt Securities Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Encore Wire Co. (NASDAQ:WIRE)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. decreased its position in shares of Encore Wire Co. (NASDAQ:WIRE) by 1.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 80,674 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 1,500 shares during the quarter. Encore Wire makes up 2.4% of Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Sunbelt Securities Inc. owned about 0.46% of Encore Wire worth $14,748,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pinnacle Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Encore Wire during the 1st quarter worth $37,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Encore Wire by 41.5% during 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 last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Encore Wire during the 1st quarter worth $66,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Encore Wire by 33.8% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Encore Wire during the 1st quarter worth $75,000. Institutional investors own 99.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on Encore Wire from $250.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Encore Wire from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 5th.

Encore Wire Stock Performance

Encore Wire stock opened at $166.94 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $167.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $171.47. Encore Wire Co. has a one year low of $108.53 and a one year high of $206.74. The stock has a market cap of $2.81 billion, a PE ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 1.33.

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

Encore Wire Announces Dividend

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

Encore Wire Profile

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.