Short Interest in Park Aerospace Corp. (NYSE:PKE) Expands By 23.0%

Park Aerospace Corp. (NYSE:PKE) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 897,728 shares, an increase of 23.0% from the February 12th total of 729,803 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 266,510 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days. Currently, 5.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Currently, 5.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 266,510 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Institutional Trading of Park Aerospace

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Palisades Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Park Aerospace in the third quarter worth about $5,904,000. Next Century Growth Investors LLC lifted its position in shares of Park Aerospace by 93.0% during the 4th quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC now owns 526,054 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $11,226,000 after buying an additional 253,508 shares in the last quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Park Aerospace during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,984,000. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC bought a new position in shares of Park Aerospace during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,060,000. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its holdings in Park Aerospace by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 3,001,732 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $44,336,000 after acquiring an additional 118,384 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PKE. Weiss Ratings raised Park Aerospace from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Park Aerospace from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Park Aerospace currently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Park Aerospace Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of PKE opened at $26.76 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $533.25 million, a PE ratio of 62.22 and a beta of 0.29. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.67. Park Aerospace has a 1-year low of $11.97 and a 1-year high of $29.60.

Park Aerospace (NYSE:PKE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Park Aerospace had a return on equity of 9.28% and a net margin of 13.14%.The business had revenue of $17.33 million for the quarter.

Park Aerospace Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 2nd. Park Aerospace’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 116.28%.

About Park Aerospace

Park Aerospace (NYSE: PKE) is a specialized materials and manufacturing company that designs, develops and produces high-performance composite structures, engineered laminates and specialty adhesives for aerospace, defense and industrial markets. Its product portfolio includes advanced honeycomb cores, composite assemblies, dielectric and high-reliability circuit materials, as well as structural and bonding solutions that meet demanding performance and weight requirements.

The company operates through two principal segments.