Daktronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:DAKT) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Daktronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:DAKT) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,390,000 shares, a growth of 7.8% from the December 31st total of 1,290,000 shares. Approximately 3.3% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 478,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Insider Transactions at Daktronics

In related news, Director John Patrick Friel sold 2,244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.17, for a total value of $40,773.48. Following the transaction, the director now owns 87,573 shares in the company, valued at $1,591,201.41. The trade was a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Reece A. Kurtenbach sold 8,048 shares of Daktronics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was 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 directly owns 469,727 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,807,381.25. This trade represents a 1.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Daktronics

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Progeny 3 Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Daktronics by 27.3% in the 3rd quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. now owns 2,284,608 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,494,000 after acquiring an additional 489,700 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new position in Daktronics in the 3rd quarter worth about $4,101,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted 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 during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in Daktronics by 5,451.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 48,690 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $629,000 after acquiring an additional 47,813 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Daktronics by 31.6% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 191,799 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,476,000 after acquiring an additional 46,104 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DAKT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Craig Hallum assumed coverage on Daktronics in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Daktronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th.

Daktronics Stock Performance

Shares of Daktronics stock traded up $0.43 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $16.49. 56,699 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 325,291. Daktronics has a one year low of $7.20 and a one year high of $19.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $776.51 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $16.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.90.

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

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.