Next Century Growth Investors LLC Grows Position in Park Aerospace Corp. $PKE

Next Century Growth Investors LLC increased its position in shares of Park Aerospace Corp. (NYSE:PKE) by 93.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 526,054 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 253,508 shares during the period. Next Century Growth Investors LLC owned about 2.64% of Park Aerospace worth $11,226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PKE. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new stake in shares of Park Aerospace during the first quarter worth approximately $52,000. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Park Aerospace by 11.4% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 14,205 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $191,000 after buying an additional 1,456 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Park Aerospace by 1.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 439,194 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,489,000 after buying an additional 7,342 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Park Aerospace by 161.0% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,685 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 2,890 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in Park Aerospace by 4.9% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 30,657 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $453,000 after purchasing an additional 1,421 shares in the last quarter. 77.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Park Aerospace Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of PKE opened at $35.56 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $742.58 million, a PE ratio of 63.51 and a beta of 0.42. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.21. Park Aerospace Corp. has a 12-month low of $13.52 and a 12-month high of $38.20.

Park Aerospace (NYSE:PKE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The semiconductor company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $24.19 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.31 million. Park Aerospace had a net margin of 15.38% and a return on equity of 10.08%.

Park Aerospace Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be given a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Park Aerospace’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on PKE shares. Citizens Jmp started coverage on shares of Park Aerospace in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. They set a “market outperform” rating and a $42.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Park Aerospace from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Park Aerospace from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Park Aerospace in a report on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.00.

About Park Aerospace

Park Aerospace (NYSE: PKE) is a specialized materials and manufacturing company that designs, develops and produces high-performance composite structures, engineered laminates and specialty adhesives for aerospace, defense and industrial markets. Its product portfolio includes advanced honeycomb cores, composite assemblies, dielectric and high-reliability circuit materials, as well as structural and bonding solutions that meet demanding performance and weight requirements.

The company operates through two principal segments.