Craig Hallum Initiates Coverage on Daktronics (NASDAQ:DAKT)

Stock analysts at Craig Hallum initiated coverage on shares of Daktronics (NASDAQ:DAKT) in a report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price target on the technology company’s stock. Craig Hallum’s price target points to a potential upside of 49.08% from the stock’s current price.

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Daktronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th.

Daktronics Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:DAKT opened at $17.44 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $819.51 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.17. Daktronics has a 1-year low of $7.20 and a 1-year high of $19.89. The company’s fifty day moving average is $16.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 2.35.

Daktronics (NASDAQ:DAKT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The technology company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($0.09). Daktronics had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 3.62%. Equities analysts anticipate that Daktronics will post 0.96 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Daktronics

In other news, CEO Reece A. Kurtenbach sold 8,048 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.75, for a total transaction of $150,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 469,727 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,807,381.25. This represents a 1.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John Patrick Friel sold 2,244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.17, for a total transaction of $40,773.48. Following the transaction, the director now owns 87,573 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,591,201.41. This represents a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 8.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Daktronics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DAKT. Progeny 3 Inc. grew its position in Daktronics by 27.3% in the 3rd quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. now owns 2,284,608 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,494,000 after buying an additional 489,700 shares in the last quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC grew its position in Daktronics by 20.3% in the 2nd quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC now owns 2,493,605 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $34,786,000 after buying an additional 420,161 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC bought a new position in Daktronics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,101,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Daktronics by 76.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 451,873 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,834,000 after buying an additional 195,830 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in Daktronics by 5,451.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 48,690 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $629,000 after buying an additional 47,813 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.69% of the company’s stock.

Daktronics Company Profile

Daktronics, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells electronic scoreboards, programmable display systems and large screen video displays for sporting, commercial, and transportation applications in the United States and internationally. It operates through Commercial, Live Events, High School Park and Recreation, Transportation, and International segments.