Dycom Industries, Inc. (NYSE:DY) Short Interest Down 25.6% in March

Dycom Industries, Inc. (NYSE:DY) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,250,000 shares, a drop of 25.6% from the February 28th total of 1,680,000 shares. Approximately 4.5% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 528,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Insider Activity at Dycom Industries

In related news, Director Peter T. Pruitt, Jr. sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.08, for a total transaction of $507,732.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,544,437.64. This trade represents a 16.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Dycom Industries

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DY. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Dycom Industries by 46.5% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 20,232 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,988,000 after purchasing an additional 6,418 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new stake in Dycom Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,171,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Dycom Industries by 65.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 80,320 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $15,831,000 after buying an additional 31,864 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Dycom Industries by 4.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 666,051 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $131,278,000 after buying an additional 27,370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Dycom Industries by 209.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 390 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on DY shares. KeyCorp reduced their price target on Dycom Industries from $229.00 to $201.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. B. Riley reduced their price objective on shares of Dycom Industries from $234.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Dycom Industries from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.38.

Dycom Industries Stock Performance

Shares of DY traded up $2.33 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $154.67. 332,450 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 380,942. The stock has a market cap of $4.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $169.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $179.86. Dycom Industries has a 1 year low of $133.00 and a 1 year high of $207.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 2.93 and a current ratio of 3.12.

Dycom Industries announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $150.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to reacquire up to 3.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Dycom Industries Company Profile

Dycom Industries, Inc provides specialty contracting services to the telecommunications infrastructure and utility industries in the United States. The company offers engineering services to telecommunications providers, including the planning and design of aerial, underground, and buried fiber optic, copper, and coaxial cable systems; wireless networks in connection with the deployment of macro cell and new small cell sites; and program and project management and inspection personnel.