Insteel Industries (NYSE:IIIN) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold Rating

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Insteel Industries (NYSE:IIIN) from a "sell" to a "hold" rating in a note to investors issued Sunday.
• Other analysts remain bearish—Weiss and Zacks recently downgraded the stock (Zacks to "strong sell"), and MarketBeat shows an average rating of "Reduce" with one Hold and one Sell on file.
• Insteel missed quarterly expectations, reporting $0.27 EPS vs. $0.80 expected on $172.65M revenue (up 7.5% YoY); shares trade around $25, near a 52-week low of $24.35, with a market cap of roughly $489M.

Insteel Industries (NYSE:IIIN - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Insteel Industries from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Wednesday. Zacks Research lowered shares of Insteel Industries from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce".

Insteel Industries Stock Performance

Shares of IIIN stock opened at $25.15 on Friday. Insteel Industries has a 52-week low of $24.35 and a 52-week high of $41.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $488.72 million, a PE ratio of 11.54, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.04.

Insteel Industries (NYSE:IIIN - Get Free Report) last issued its 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). Insteel Industries had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 6.16%.The firm had revenue of $172.65 million during the quarter. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Insteel Industries will post 1.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Insteel Industries

In other Insteel Industries 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 value of $63,247.93. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 40,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,506,800. The trade was a 4.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Insteel Industries

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of IIIN. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Insteel Industries by 12.4% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 155,949 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,101,000 after buying an additional 17,168 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Insteel Industries during the first quarter valued at $225,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Insteel Industries during the second quarter valued at $220,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Insteel Industries by 28.9% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 123,667 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,602,000 after acquiring an additional 27,702 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC lifted its stake in Insteel Industries by 94.3% during the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 17,369 shares of the company's stock valued at $646,000 after acquiring an additional 8,429 shares during the period. 83.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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