StockNews.com Upgrades ATI (NYSE:ATI) to Hold

ATI (NYSE:ATI) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday.

Several other research firms have also commented on ATI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on ATI from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. KeyCorp downgraded ATI from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of ATI from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of ATI from $81.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.71.

ATI Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE ATI traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $57.30. The stock had a trading volume of 1,261,193 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,440,636. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. ATI has a 1-year low of $38.04 and a 1-year high of $68.92. The company has a market capitalization of $8.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.04, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $59.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.47.

ATI (NYSE:ATI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.06). ATI had a return on equity of 21.39% and a net margin of 8.85%. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. ATI’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that ATI will post 2.27 earnings per share for the current year.

ATI declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, September 3rd that authorizes the company to buyback $700.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the basic materials company to reacquire up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Tina Killough Busch sold 2,598 shares of ATI stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.02, for a total value of $155,931.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 21,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,293,611.06. The trade was a 10.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Robert S. Wetherbee sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.99, for a total transaction of $1,474,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 436,443 shares in the company, valued at $25,745,772.57. This represents a 5.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 77,598 shares of company stock worth $4,726,682. Corporate insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ATI

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quarry LP bought a new position in ATI in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of ATI by 557.0% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 933 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 791 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in ATI in the 2nd quarter valued at about $88,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in ATI in the 2nd quarter valued at about $205,000. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP acquired a new position in shares of ATI during the second quarter valued at approximately $211,000.

ATI Company Profile

ATI Inc produces and sells specialty materials and complex components worldwide. It operates in two segments: High Performance Materials & Components (HPMC) and Advanced Alloys & Solutions (AA&S). The HPMC segment produces various materials, including titanium and titanium-based alloys, nickel- and cobalt-based alloys and superalloys, metallic powder alloys, advanced powder alloys and other specialty materials, in long product forms, such as ingot, billet, bar, rod, wire, shapes and rectangles, and seamless tubes, as well as precision forgings, components, and machined parts.