Wall Street Zen Downgrades Optical Cable (NASDAQ:OCC) to Hold

Optical Cable (NASDAQ:OCC) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Optical Cable in a report on Friday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Sell”.

Optical Cable Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:OCC opened at $14.41 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.24 million, a PE ratio of 120.09 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $16.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.74. Optical Cable has a twelve month low of $4.02 and a twelve month high of $27.98.

Optical Cable (NASDAQ:OCC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, June 8th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $22.21 million for the quarter. Optical Cable had a net margin of 1.29% and a return on equity of 5.92%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.09) earnings per share.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Tracy G. Smith sold 16,453 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.23, for a total value of $283,485.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 329,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,682,901.98. This trade represents a 4.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 22.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Optical Cable

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of OCC. Gendell Jeffrey L grew its position in Optical Cable by 47.4% in the fourth quarter. Gendell Jeffrey L now owns 415,340 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,848,000 after acquiring an additional 133,510 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. purchased a new stake in Optical Cable during the first quarter valued at about $754,000. Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new stake in Optical Cable during the third quarter valued at about $487,000. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in Optical Cable during the fourth quarter worth about $210,000. Finally, Round Rock Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Optical Cable during the fourth quarter worth about $139,000. Institutional investors own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

About Optical Cable

Optical Cable Corporation (NASDAQ: OCC) is a publicly traded designer and manufacturer of optical fiber and copper communications cable solutions. Headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, the company develops a broad range of standard and custom cable assemblies, connectors, hardware and accessories. Its product portfolio addresses data transmission requirements in demanding environments, including long-haul telecommunications, industrial automation, defense systems and submersible applications.

The company’s offerings are organized across multiple product lines, encompassing outside-plant fiber optic cable for aerial and underground installations, indoor/outdoor copper connectivity and specialty engineered cable assemblies.