Chase Investment Counsel Corp Purchases New Stake in Encore Wire Co. (NASDAQ:WIRE)

Chase Investment Counsel Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Encore Wire Co. (NASDAQ:WIRE - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 4,000 shares of the electronics maker's stock, valued at approximately $854,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WIRE. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Encore Wire by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 4,104 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $877,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Encore Wire by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,691 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $1,429,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC increased its position in Encore Wire by 3.9% during the third quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 1,850 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Encore Wire by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,572 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $977,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Encore Wire by 69.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 203 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. 99.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. CJS Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Encore Wire in a report on Friday, April 19th. DA Davidson downgraded Encore Wire from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $295.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Encore Wire in a research note on Thursday. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, Sidoti reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $290.00 price objective on shares of Encore Wire in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th.

Encore Wire Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WIRE traded down $1.86 during trading on Monday, reaching $283.03. 207,310 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 263,933. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $250.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $220.41. Encore Wire Co. has a 12-month low of $150.51 and a 12-month high of $295.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.47 billion, a PE ratio of 15.01 and a beta of 1.31.

Encore Wire (NASDAQ:WIRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The electronics maker reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $632.66 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $579.64 million. Encore Wire had a return on equity of 17.77% and a net margin of 12.45%. Encore Wire's revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.50 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Encore Wire Co. will post 21.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Encore Wire Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th were paid a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.03%. Encore Wire's dividend payout ratio is currently 0.42%.

Encore Wire Profile

Encore Wire Corporation engages in manufacture and sale of electrical building wires and cables in the United States. It offers NM-B cables, UF-B cables, THHN/THWN-2, XHHW-2, USE-2, RHH/RHW-2, and other types of wire products, including SEU, SER, photovoltaic, URD, tray cables, metal-clads, and armored cables.