Russell Investments Group Ltd. Buys 9,142 Shares of Encore Wire Co. (NASDAQ:WIRE)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Encore Wire Co. (NASDAQ:WIRE) by 36.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 34,470 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,142 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Encore Wire were worth $7,363,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Encore Wire by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,691 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $1,429,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Encore Wire by 3.9% in the third quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 1,850 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in Encore Wire by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,572 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $977,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tectonic Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Encore Wire by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 4,805 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,026,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on WIRE shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Encore Wire in a report on Friday, May 3rd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. CJS Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Encore Wire in a report on Friday, April 19th. DA Davidson downgraded Encore Wire from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $295.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Sidoti reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Encore Wire in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th.

Encore Wire Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WIRE opened at $281.20 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.44 billion, a PE ratio of 14.92 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $257.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $224.81. Encore Wire Co. has a 1 year low of $150.51 and a 1 year high of $295.90.

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

Encore Wire Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 19th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th were paid a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 4th. Encore Wire’s dividend payout ratio is presently 0.42%.

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.