Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in ATS Corporation $ATS

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group cut its ATS Corporation stake by 29.3% in the first quarter, selling 257,400 shares and leaving it with 620,840 shares worth about $17.4 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 75.84%, with several other large investors such as Royal Bank of Canada, EdgePoint, Vanguard, and Bank of Montreal Can also adjusting their ATS positions.
• ATS recently posted mixed quarterly results, missing EPS estimates with $0.26 versus $0.32 expected, while revenue came in slightly above forecasts at $535.09 million; analysts currently have a Hold consensus on the stock.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in ATS Corporation (NYSE:ATS - Free Report) by 29.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 620,840 shares of the company's stock after selling 257,400 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.63% of ATS worth $17,443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of ATS by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,644,547 shares of the company's stock valued at $210,529,000 after purchasing an additional 623,369 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of ATS by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 6,888,785 shares of the company's stock worth $189,771,000 after buying an additional 507,491 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of ATS by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,397,166 shares of the company's stock worth $93,582,000 after buying an additional 55,731 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in ATS by 187.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,022,693 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,269,000 after buying an additional 1,970,040 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp boosted its stake in ATS by 217.5% during the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 1,340,265 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,918,000 after buying an additional 918,100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.84% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ATS shares. Weiss Ratings raised ATS from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of ATS in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Desjardins began coverage on shares of ATS in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of ATS from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of ATS from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ATS has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $42.50.

ATS Stock Performance

ATS stock opened at $26.88 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.69 and a beta of 1.21. ATS Corporation has a 1-year low of $23.84 and a 1-year high of $35.82. The company's 50-day moving average is $28.97 and its 200 day moving average is $30.08.

ATS (NYSE:ATS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.06). ATS had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 9.40%. The business had revenue of $535.09 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $529.43 million. Research analysts forecast that ATS Corporation will post 1.38 EPS for the current year.

About ATS

ATS Corporation NYSE: ATS is a Canada-based global provider of automation and energy solutions. Headquartered in Cambridge, Ontario, the company specializes in the design, engineering and manufacturing of custom automation and test systems, as well as fluid handling and control products. Since its founding in 1978, ATS has focused on delivering integrated hardware and software solutions that help original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) improve efficiency, quality and throughput across a range of industries.

Through its Automation segment, ATS develops bespoke assembly and testing platforms for sectors such as life sciences, consumer electronics, automotive and industrial equipment.

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