Preformed Line Products (NASDAQ:PLPC) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Preformed Line Products (NASDAQ:PLPC) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Tuesday morning.

Preformed Line Products Price Performance

Preformed Line Products stock opened at $148.54 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $733.94 million, a PE ratio of 22.30 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $135.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $130.20. Preformed Line Products has a 52 week low of $109.01 and a 52 week high of $154.90.

Preformed Line Products (NASDAQ:PLPC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The technology company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $167.12 million for the quarter. Preformed Line Products had a net margin of 5.76% and a return on equity of 7.88%.

Preformed Line Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. Preformed Line Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.67%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Preformed Line Products in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,712,000. Pullen Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Preformed Line Products in the 4th quarter valued at about $605,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Preformed Line Products by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 8,983 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,149,000 after purchasing an additional 1,098 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Preformed Line Products by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 35,732 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,566,000 after acquiring an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Preformed Line Products by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 22,481 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,873,000 after acquiring an additional 2,480 shares during the last quarter. 41.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Preformed Line Products Company Profile

Preformed Line Products Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs and manufactures products and systems that are used in the construction and maintenance of overhead, ground-mounted, and underground networks for the energy, telecommunication, cable, data communication, and other industries. The company offers optical ground wire products to support, protect, terminate, and splice transmission and distribution lines, as well as bolted, welded, and compressed connectors for substations; and string hardware products, polymer insulators, wildlife protection, substation fittings, and motion control devices.