Apogee Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:APOG) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Apogee Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:APOG) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 762,000 shares, a decrease of 17.9% from the December 15th total of 927,700 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 186,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.1 days. Approximately 3.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apogee Enterprises

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Apogee Enterprises in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Apogee Enterprises by 43.2% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 540 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its stake in Apogee Enterprises by 959.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Apogee Enterprises during the 3rd quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apogee Enterprises by 19.9% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,147 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.05% of the company’s stock.

Apogee Enterprises Price Performance

Shares of APOG stock traded up $0.42 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $55.11. 30,804 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 413,256. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.63. The firm has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.30 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.55. Apogee Enterprises has a twelve month low of $49.58 and a twelve month high of $87.93.

Apogee Enterprises (NASDAQ:APOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 7th. The industrial products company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $341.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $332.27 million. Apogee Enterprises had a net margin of 7.14% and a return on equity of 23.14%. Apogee Enterprises’s revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Apogee Enterprises will post 4.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Apogee Enterprises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 28th will be given a $0.26 dividend. This is a positive change from Apogee Enterprises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 28th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. Apogee Enterprises’s payout ratio is 22.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on APOG. Singular Research upgraded Apogee Enterprises to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Apogee Enterprises from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Apogee Enterprises from $75.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Sidoti raised shares of Apogee Enterprises from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th.

Apogee Enterprises Company Profile

Apogee Enterprises, Inc provides architectural products and services for enclosing buildings, and glass and acrylic products used for preservation, protection, and enhanced viewing in the United States, Canada, and Brazil. The company operates in four segments: Architectural Framing Systems, Architectural Glass, Architectural Services, and Large-Scale Optical (LSO).