Preformed Line Products (NASDAQ:PLPC) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Preformed Line Products (NASDAQ:PLPC) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 36,400 shares, an increase of 64.7% from the January 15th total of 22,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 19,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Preformed Line Products Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PLPC traded down $2.21 during trading on Friday, hitting $140.73. 14,720 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 37,000. The company has a market cap of $689.58 million, a PE ratio of 21.13 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $133.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $128.05. Preformed Line Products has a 12-month low of $109.01 and a 12-month high of $154.90.

Preformed Line Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 7th. Preformed Line Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.01%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Preformed Line Products

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PLPC. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Preformed Line Products by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 35,732 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,566,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Preformed Line Products by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 22,481 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,873,000 after buying an additional 2,480 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Preformed Line Products by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 5,413 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $692,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P increased its position in Preformed Line Products by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 9,131 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,167,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nierenberg Investment Management Company Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Preformed Line Products in the fourth quarter valued at $582,000. 41.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Preformed Line Products from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th.

About Preformed Line Products

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.