Franklin Resources Inc. Grows Stock Position in American Woodmark Co. (NASDAQ:AMWD)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Woodmark Co. (NASDAQ:AMWD) by 266.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 372,390 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 270,644 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 2.47% of American Woodmark worth $29,616,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of American Woodmark in the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,675,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of American Woodmark by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 63,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,080,000 after acquiring an additional 17,412 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its position in shares of American Woodmark by 483.0% in the fourth quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 48,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,841,000 after acquiring an additional 40,016 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of American Woodmark during the fourth quarter valued at about $239,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of American Woodmark by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 8,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $703,000 after purchasing an additional 772 shares during the period. 95.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on AMWD. Wolfe Research lowered American Woodmark from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com upgraded American Woodmark from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $114.00.

American Woodmark Stock Performance

Shares of AMWD opened at $57.40 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $851.53 million, a PE ratio of 8.58 and a beta of 1.31. American Woodmark Co. has a one year low of $52.38 and a one year high of $106.57.

American Woodmark (NASDAQ:AMWD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $397.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $405.72 million. American Woodmark had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 12.70%.

About American Woodmark

American Woodmark Corporation manufactures and distributes kitchen, bath, office, home organization, and hardware products for the remodelling and new home construction markets in the United States. The company offers made-to-order and cash and carry products. It also provides turnkey installation services to its direct builder customers through a network of eight service centers.