Insteel Industries (NYSE:IIIN) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Insteel Industries (NYSE:IIIN) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Insteel Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

Insteel Industries Price Performance

Shares of Insteel Industries stock opened at $24.92 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $484.22 million, a PE ratio of 11.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.83. Insteel Industries has a 1-year low of $24.35 and a 1-year high of $41.64.

Insteel Industries (NYSE:IIIN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.80 by ($0.53). The business had revenue of $172.65 million for the quarter. Insteel Industries had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 6.16%.Insteel Industries’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Insteel Industries will post 1.32 EPS for the current year.

Insteel Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Insteel Industries’s payout ratio is 5.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Insteel Industries

In related news, COO Richard Wagner sold 1,679 shares of Insteel Industries stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.67, for a total transaction of $63,247.93. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,506,800. The trade was a 4.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 6.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Insteel Industries by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,415,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,818,000 after buying an additional 17,660 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Insteel Industries by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 990,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,986,000 after buying an additional 11,931 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Insteel Industries by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 727,168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,029,000 after buying an additional 3,919 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Insteel Industries by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 484,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,345,000 after buying an additional 2,830 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Insteel Industries by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 366,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,616,000 after buying an additional 46,213 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.27% of the company’s stock.

Key Insteel Industries News

Here are the key news stories impacting Insteel Industries this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Zacks downgraded IIIN from “hold” to “strong sell”, signaling a lower near‑term conviction from a widely followed independent research shop; that rating change increases downside pressure from retail and quant strategies that follow Zacks signals. Zacks.com
• Negative Sentiment: Sidoti sharply cut multi‑quarter and multi‑year EPS forecasts for IIIN (large downgrades to FY2026 and FY2027 and across Q3/Q4 2026 and Q1–Q4 2027), materially lowering expected earnings power vs prior forecasts — a catalyst for renewed analyst/portfolio reweighting and increased downside risk to valuation. Sidoti estimates via MarketBeat
• Negative Sentiment: Recent quarterly results (reported April 16) showed a meaningful EPS miss (reported $0.27 vs. $0.80 consensus) even as revenue rose ~7.5% year‑over‑year — this earnings surprise likely prompted the subsequent analyst cuts and is a near‑term negative for sentiment until margin drivers or order trends improve. Earnings recap via MarketBeat

Insteel Industries Company Profile

Insteel Industries, Inc is a leading manufacturer of steel wire reinforcing products used in concrete construction. The company specializes in the design, fabrication and distribution of welded-wire reinforcement, cut-and-bent reinforcement and related accessories for concrete walls, floors and columns. Its products are employed across residential, commercial and infrastructure projects, providing structural strength and dimensional stability in poured concrete applications.

Key product lines include truss mats—prefabricated, ladder-like assemblies of welded wire designed for rapid placement—and custom cut-and-bent wire assemblies that meet specific engineering requirements.