ATS Co. (NYSE:ATS) Short Interest Up 6.5% in September

ATS Co. (NYSE:ATS) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,460,000 shares, an increase of 6.5% from the August 31st total of 2,310,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 104,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 23.6 days. Approximately 2.5% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of ATS from $36.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of ATS from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ATS. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in ATS by 91.5% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 1,574 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in ATS by 37.7% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 4,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $140,000 after buying an additional 1,140 shares in the last quarter. Steph & Co. grew its holdings in ATS by 133.6% during the 1st quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 6,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $210,000 after acquiring an additional 3,554 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in ATS in the 2nd quarter valued at about $286,000. Finally, Dynasty Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of ATS in the first quarter worth about $337,000. 75.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ATS Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ATS traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $29.10. 39,100 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 104,353. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $27.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.99. The firm has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.88 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.51. ATS has a twelve month low of $24.82 and a twelve month high of $44.70.

ATS (NYSE:ATS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $507.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $502.41 million. ATS had a return on equity of 14.63% and a net margin of 6.11%. Equities research analysts anticipate that ATS will post 1.44 EPS for the current year.

ATS Company Profile

ATS Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides automation solutions worldwide. The company is also involved in planning, designing, building, commissioning, and servicing automated manufacturing and assembly systems, including automation products and test solutions. In addition, it offers pre-automation services comprising discovery and analysis, concept development, simulation, and total cost of ownership modelling; post automation services, including training, process optimization, preventative maintenance, emergency and on-call support, spare parts, retooling, retrofits, and equipment relocation; and contract manufacturing services, as well as after sales and services.