ATI Inc. (NYSE:ATI) Short Interest Down 54.5% in September

ATI Inc. (NYSE:ATI) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,300,000 shares, a drop of 54.5% from the August 31st total of 5,060,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,530,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.5 days. Approximately 1.9% of the shares of the company are sold short.

ATI Price Performance

Shares of ATI stock traded up $0.95 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $66.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,601,883 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,448,711. The company has a market cap of $8.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.61, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $63.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.09. ATI has a 1-year low of $35.03 and a 1-year high of $68.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 2.13.

ATI (NYSE:ATI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.02. ATI had a net margin of 8.74% and a return on equity of 23.05%. The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that ATI will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current year.

ATI announced 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 repurchase up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Robert S. Wetherbee sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.61, for a total transaction of $1,540,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 511,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,510,003.23. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of ATI in the 4th quarter valued at about $55,855,000. UBS Group AG grew its stake in ATI by 156.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 157,369 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,156,000 after purchasing an additional 96,078 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of ATI by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 19,748 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $898,000 after purchasing an additional 1,831 shares during the last quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. raised its stake in shares of ATI by 211.5% during the 4th quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 2,651 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TFO Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in ATI by 103,225.0% during the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,133 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $182,000 after acquiring an additional 4,129 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on ATI shares. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of ATI in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Susquehanna initiated coverage on ATI in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a “positive” rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. Northcoast Research lowered ATI from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of ATI in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.00.

About ATI

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.