Encore Wire (NASDAQ:WIRE) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Encore Wire (NASDAQ:WIRE) in a research note published on Friday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the electronics maker’s stock.

WIRE has been the topic of several other reports. CJS Securities reissued a market perform rating on shares of Encore Wire in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Sidoti reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $290.00 price target on shares of Encore Wire in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, DA Davidson downgraded shares of Encore Wire from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $295.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, April 16th.

Encore Wire Price Performance

Shares of Encore Wire stock opened at $280.94 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $256.75 and a 200 day moving average of $224.03. The firm has a market cap of $4.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.90 and a beta of 1.28. Encore Wire has a 1 year low of $150.51 and a 1 year high of $295.90.

Encore Wire (NASDAQ:WIRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The electronics maker reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.27. Encore Wire had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 17.77%. The company had revenue of $632.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $579.64 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.50 EPS. Encore Wire’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Encore Wire will post 21.24 EPS for the current year.

Encore Wire Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Encore Wire

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WIRE. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise grew its holdings in shares of Encore Wire by 10.7% in the first quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 414 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV grew its holdings in shares of Encore Wire by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 5,330 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $1,138,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Encore Wire by 42.0% in the first quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 142 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. FCG Investment Co boosted its stake in Encore Wire by 3.8% during the first quarter. FCG Investment Co now owns 1,297 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $341,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Encore Wire by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 4,104 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $877,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.82% of the company’s stock.

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.