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

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of ATS from $36.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of ATS from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ATS currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.00.

Institutional Trading of ATS

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in ATS by 135.2% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,240,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,707,000 after buying an additional 1,862,912 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of ATS by 18.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,336,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,530,000 after purchasing an additional 1,325,247 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ATS by 34.3% during the 1st quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,560,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $119,863,000 after purchasing an additional 909,149 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in ATS by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,470,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $192,690,000 after buying an additional 360,719 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in ATS during the second quarter valued at about $11,602,000. 75.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ATS Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:ATS opened at $29.08 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $27.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The stock has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a PE 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.

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