Russell Investments Group Ltd. Purchases 9,142 Shares of Encore Wire Co. (NASDAQ:WIRE)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Encore Wire Co. (NASDAQ:WIRE) by 36.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,470 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after buying an additional 9,142 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.22% of Encore Wire worth $7,363,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Encore Wire by 15.5% during the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 15,258 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $2,784,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Encore Wire by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 26,128 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $4,767,000 after buying an additional 1,636 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of Encore Wire by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 2,842 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $519,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC grew its position in Encore Wire by 23.0% during the third quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 1,885 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $344,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the period. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. increased its holdings in Encore Wire by 2,775.4% during the third quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 64,696 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $11,804,000 after buying an additional 62,446 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on WIRE shares. DA Davidson downgraded shares of Encore Wire from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $295.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Sidoti reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Encore Wire in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com began coverage on Encore Wire in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, CJS Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Encore Wire in a research note on Friday, April 19th.

Encore Wire Trading Up 0.1 %

Encore Wire stock opened at $281.20 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.92 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $257.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $224.81. Encore Wire Co. has a 1-year low of $150.51 and a 1-year high of $295.90.

Encore Wire (NASDAQ:WIRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The electronics maker reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.27. Encore Wire had a return on equity of 17.77% and a net margin of 12.45%. The company had revenue of $632.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $579.64 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.50 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Encore Wire Co. will post 21.24 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 4th. Encore Wire’s payout ratio is 0.42%.

About Encore Wire

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.