Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 456 Shares of Encore Wire Co. (NASDAQ:WIRE)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its position in Encore Wire Co. (NASDAQ:WIRE) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,734 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 456 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Encore Wire were worth $1,225,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Encore Wire by 69.2% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 203 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Encore Wire during the 4th quarter worth approximately $99,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Encore Wire during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $91,000. Strs Ohio raised its stake in Encore Wire by 40.0% in the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 700 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $149,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Black Swift Group LLC acquired a new stake in Encore Wire during the 4th quarter valued at $214,000. 99.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Encore Wire Trading Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ WIRE opened at $281.02 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $4.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.91 and a beta of 1.28. Encore Wire Co. has a 1-year low of $150.51 and a 1-year high of $295.90. The company has a 50 day moving average of $258.67 and a 200-day moving average of $225.21.

Encore Wire (NASDAQ:WIRE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The electronics maker reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $632.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $579.64 million. Encore Wire had a return on equity of 17.77% and a net margin of 12.45%. The company’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.50 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Encore Wire Co. will post 21.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Encore Wire Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

WIRE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. CJS Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Encore Wire in a research report on Friday, April 19th. DA Davidson downgraded shares of Encore Wire from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $295.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com began coverage on Encore Wire in a report on Friday, May 3rd. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Sidoti reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $290.00 price target on shares of Encore Wire in a report on Tuesday, April 16th.

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.