Atkore (NYSE:ATKR) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Atkore (NYSE:ATKR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Monday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Roth Capital set a $78.00 price objective on Atkore and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. KeyCorp increased their price target on Atkore from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Atkore from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Loop Capital cut Atkore from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $115.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Atkore from $78.00 to $66.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Atkore presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $77.57.

Atkore Stock Up 3.7%

Shares of NYSE ATKR traded up $2.51 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $70.47. The company had a trading volume of 598,987 shares, compared to its average volume of 688,108. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.82 and a beta of 2.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 3.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Atkore has a 1-year low of $49.92 and a 1-year high of $159.30. The firm's 50 day moving average is $61.93 and its 200-day moving average is $75.12.

Atkore (NYSE:ATKR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.52. The company had revenue of $701.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $690.83 million. Atkore had a return on equity of 25.69% and a net margin of 12.42%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.08 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Atkore will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Mark F. Lamps sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.16, for a total transaction of $69,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 32,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,270,384.48. This represents a 2.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.99% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Atkore by 195.6% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,174,464 shares of the company's stock worth $98,009,000 after acquiring an additional 777,113 shares during the last quarter. Gates Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Atkore by 29.6% during the fourth quarter. Gates Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,607,354 shares of the company's stock valued at $217,584,000 after buying an additional 595,774 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Atkore by 549.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 607,041 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,658,000 after buying an additional 513,631 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Atkore during the fourth quarter valued at $42,339,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Atkore by 3,948.4% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 470,830 shares of the company's stock worth $39,291,000 after purchasing an additional 459,200 shares during the last quarter.

About Atkore

Atkore Inc engages in the manufacture and sale of electrical, mechanical, safety, and infrastructure products and solutions in the United States and internationally. The company offers conduits, cables, and installation accessories. It also designs and manufactures protection and reliability solutions for critical infrastructure, such as metal framing, mechanical pipe, perimeter security, and cable management.

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