Encore Wire (NASDAQ:WIRE) Reaches New 52-Week High at $285.55

Encore Wire Co. (NASDAQ:WIRE) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $285.55 and last traded at $285.55, with a volume of 107295 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $260.98.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WIRE shares. StockNews.com lowered Encore Wire from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Sidoti reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $290.00 target price on shares of Encore Wire in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $295.00 target price on shares of Encore Wire in a research report on Tuesday.

Encore Wire Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $240.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $213.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.57 billion, a PE ratio of 13.52 and a beta of 1.31.

Encore Wire (NASDAQ:WIRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The electronics maker reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.05. Encore Wire had a return on equity of 20.92% and a net margin of 14.50%. The business had revenue of $633.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $601.48 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $8.28 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Encore Wire Co. will post 16.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Encore Wire Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.03%. Encore Wire’s dividend payout ratio is presently 0.37%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in Encore Wire by 26.6% during the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 49,324 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $10,668,000 after buying an additional 10,366 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund purchased a new position in Encore Wire during the 3rd quarter worth $1,840,000. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in Encore Wire by 501.7% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 74,015 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $13,505,000 after buying an additional 61,714 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in Encore Wire by 2,928.3% during the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 5,996 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,094,000 after buying an additional 5,798 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantedge Capital Pte Ltd grew its stake in Encore Wire by 19.2% during the 3rd quarter. Quantedge Capital Pte Ltd now owns 27,272 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $4,976,000 after buying an additional 4,400 shares during the last quarter. 99.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Encore Wire Company 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.