Park Aerospace (NYSE:PKE) Shares Climb 6.2% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Park Aerospace Corp. (NYSE:PKE) shot up 6.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday. The company traded as high as $30.70 and last traded at $31.0860. 250,006 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 13% from the average session volume of 286,150 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.26.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Park Aerospace from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 22nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Park Aerospace from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $43.00 target price on shares of Park Aerospace in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Park Aerospace in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.50.

Park Aerospace Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $32.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.98. The firm has a market cap of $660.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.14 and a beta of 0.39.

Park Aerospace (NYSE:PKE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 20th. The semiconductor company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.03. Park Aerospace had a return on equity of 10.75% and a net margin of 16.70%.The firm had revenue of $18.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.95 million.

Park Aerospace Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be paid a $0.1250 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Park Aerospace’s dividend payout ratio is 79.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Park Aerospace

In related news, insider Constantine Petropoulos sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.00, for a total value of $90,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 2,500 shares in the company, valued at $90,000. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 7.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Park Aerospace

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in shares of Park Aerospace during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,801,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Park Aerospace during the second quarter worth $7,639,000. Illumine Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Park Aerospace in the 1st quarter valued at $1,122,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Park Aerospace in the 2nd quarter valued at $55,207,000. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Park Aerospace in the 2nd quarter worth $1,083,000. 77.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Park Aerospace Company Profile

Park Aerospace Corp. (NYSE:PKE) is an aerospace manufacturing company that develops and produces advanced composite materials and composite structures. Its products are used in the manufacture of aircraft and other aerospace systems, where lightweight, high-strength materials are important for performance and fuel efficiency.

The company’s offerings include carbon fiber and other composite materials, prepregs, film adhesives, honeycomb and other core materials, and fabricated composite parts.