ATS Co. (NYSE:ATS) Short Interest Update

ATS Co. (NYSE:ATS) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of 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 days-to-cover ratio is presently 23.6 days. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of ATS by 4.8% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 17,457 shares of the company’s stock worth $565,000 after purchasing an additional 804 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank grew its position in shares of ATS by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 167,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,631,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of ATS by 37.7% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 4,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,000 after buying an additional 1,140 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of ATS by 91.5% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 1,574 shares during the period. Finally, Thornburg Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in ATS by 1.0% in the first quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. now owns 178,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,471,000 after acquiring an additional 1,821 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.84% of the company’s stock.

ATS Price Performance

ATS stock traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $29.08. The company had a trading volume of 53,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 104,428. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.99. The company has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.88 and a beta of 1.17. ATS has a fifty-two week low of $24.82 and a fifty-two week high of $44.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

ATS (NYSE:ATS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.01). ATS had a return on equity of 14.63% and a net margin of 6.11%. The firm had revenue of $507.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $502.41 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that ATS will post 1.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.