Preformed Line Products (NASDAQ:PLPC) Short Interest Up 32.2% in March

Preformed Line Products (NASDAQ:PLPC - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 41,900 shares, a growth of 32.2% from the February 29th total of 31,700 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 16,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Preformed Line Products Price Performance

NASDAQ:PLPC traded down $2.08 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $126.39. The stock had a trading volume of 14,669 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,637. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.92. Preformed Line Products has a one year low of $104.96 and a one year high of $184.82. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $128.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $133.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $623.10 million, a P/E ratio of 9.97 and a beta of 0.74.

Preformed Line Products (NASDAQ:PLPC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The technology company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $145.60 million during the quarter. Preformed Line Products had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 9.46%.

Preformed Line Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 1st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Preformed Line Products's dividend payout ratio is currently 6.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Preformed Line Products from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 8th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Preformed Line Products

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in Preformed Line Products by 123.0% in the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 223 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new position in Preformed Line Products in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Preformed Line Products by 243.9% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 282 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Point72 Middle East FZE bought a new position in shares of Preformed Line Products in the second quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Preformed Line Products in the fourth quarter worth about $75,000. 41.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Preformed Line Products Company Profile

Preformed Line Products Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs and manufactures products and systems that are used in the construction and maintenance of overhead, ground-mounted, and underground networks for the energy, telecommunication, cable, data communication, and other industries. The company offers optical ground wire products to support, protect, terminate, and splice transmission and distribution lines, as well as bolted, welded, and compressed connectors for substations; and string hardware products, polymer insulators, wildlife protection, substation fittings, and motion control devices.