Encore Wire (NASDAQ:WIRE) Reaches New 52-Week High at $285.55

Encore Wire Co. (NASDAQ:WIRE)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $285.55 and last traded at $285.55, with a volume of 107295 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $260.98.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on WIRE. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $295.00 price target on shares of Encore Wire in a research note on Tuesday. Sidoti restated a “neutral” rating and set a $290.00 price target on shares of Encore Wire in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com cut Encore Wire from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd.

Encore Wire Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.52 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $240.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $213.22.

Encore Wire (NASDAQ:WIRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The electronics maker reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $633.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $601.48 million. Encore Wire had a return on equity of 20.92% and a net margin of 14.50%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $8.28 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Encore Wire Co. will post 16.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Encore Wire Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.03%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. Encore Wire’s payout ratio is currently 0.37%.

Institutional Trading of Encore Wire

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Encore Wire by 69.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Encore Wire in the first quarter valued at $66,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in Encore Wire by 231.5% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 358 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Encore Wire in the fourth quarter valued at $80,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in Encore Wire in the fourth quarter valued at $88,000. 99.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Encore Wire

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.