ATI Inc. (NYSE:ATI) Stake Boosted by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ATI Inc. (NYSE:ATI) by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 445,746 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 61,999 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.31% of ATI worth $27,993,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATI. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of ATI in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in ATI by 557.0% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 933 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 791 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of ATI during the second quarter valued at approximately $88,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ATI during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $205,000. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP bought a new stake in shares of ATI in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $211,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ATI news, Chairman Robert S. Wetherbee sold 25,000 shares of ATI stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.99, for a total value of $1,474,750.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 436,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,745,772.57. The trade was a 5.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tina Killough Busch sold 2,598 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.02, for a total value of $155,931.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 21,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,293,611.06. This trade represents a 10.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 52,598 shares of company stock worth $3,186,432. 1.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

ATI Price Performance

NYSE ATI opened at $54.21 on Thursday. ATI Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.04 and a 12 month high of $68.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.73 billion, a PE ratio of 20.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $58.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 2.94 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

ATI (NYSE:ATI) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 8.85% and a return on equity of 21.39%. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.55 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that ATI Inc. will post 2.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ATI announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, September 3rd that permits the company to buyback $700.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the basic materials company to reacquire up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on ATI. StockNews.com raised ATI from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of ATI from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Susquehanna cut their price target on ATI from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered ATI from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ATI currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.71.

ATI 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.