Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires Shares of 6,960 Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 6,960 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $581,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Atkore by 55.2% during the fourth quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 318,388 shares of the company's stock worth $26,569,000 after purchasing an additional 113,263 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Atkore by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,368,867 shares of the company's stock worth $111,467,000 after purchasing an additional 134,517 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Atkore by 50.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 70,736 shares of the company's stock worth $5,994,000 after purchasing an additional 23,628 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of Atkore by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 296,791 shares of the company's stock worth $24,767,000 after purchasing an additional 46,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Atkore by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 56,168 shares of the company's stock worth $4,687,000 after purchasing an additional 8,343 shares during the last quarter.

Atkore Stock Performance

ATKR stock traded down $1.13 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $65.08. 279,595 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 678,767. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $62.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.97. Atkore Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.92 and a 1-year high of $153.32. The firm has a market cap of $2.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.30 and a beta of 2.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 3.03 and a quick ratio of 1.96.

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

Atkore Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a $0.33 dividend. This is an increase from Atkore's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Atkore's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.38%.

Insider Transactions at Atkore

In other Atkore news, insider Mark F. Lamps sold 1,000 shares of Atkore stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.16, for a total transaction of $69,160.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,828 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,270,384.48. The trade was a 2.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.99% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATKR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Atkore from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Atkore from $78.00 to $66.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Loop Capital lowered shares of 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 report on Monday, February 10th. Roth Capital set a $78.00 price target on shares of Atkore and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Atkore from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.57.

Atkore Profile

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.