Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Purchases New Position in Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR)

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

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ATKR. 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 buying an additional 777,113 shares during the period. Gates Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Atkore by 29.6% during the fourth quarter. Gates Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,607,354 shares of the company's stock worth $217,584,000 after acquiring an additional 595,774 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 513,631 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Atkore in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,339,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in 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 in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on ATKR. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Atkore from $78.00 to $66.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Loop Capital downgraded Atkore from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $115.00 to $65.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Atkore from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Atkore from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $78.00 price objective on shares of Atkore and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Four research 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 has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $77.57.

Atkore Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE:ATKR traded down $0.53 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $68.08. 276,428 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 682,722. The business has a 50-day moving average of $62.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 3.03. Atkore Inc. has a 12-month low of $49.92 and a 12-month high of $157.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a PE ratio of 6.59 and a beta of 2.10.

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. The company had revenue of $701.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $690.83 million. Atkore had a return on equity of 25.69% and a net margin of 12.42%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.08 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Atkore Inc. will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atkore Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This is a positive change from Atkore's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Atkore's dividend payout ratio 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 that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were 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 directly owns 32,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,270,384.48. The trade was a 2.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.99% of the company's stock.

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.