Atrion Co. (NASDAQ:ATRI) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Atrion Co. (NASDAQ:ATRI) saw a significant growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 119,500 shares, a growth of 22.3% from the March 31st total of 97,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 18,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.4 days. Approximately 8.7% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Atrion Trading Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ ATRI traded down $3.96 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $395.01. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 26,395 shares, compared to its average volume of 29,758. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $406.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $365.18. Atrion has a 52 week low of $274.98 and a 52 week high of $625.00. The stock has a market cap of $695.22 million, a PE ratio of 35.81 and a beta of 0.60.

Atrion (NASDAQ:ATRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter. Atrion had a net margin of 11.46% and a return on equity of 8.07%. The company had revenue of $43.58 million for the quarter.

Atrion Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $2.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $8.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. Atrion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Atrion from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATRI. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Atrion in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $333,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Atrion by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 10,006 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,134,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Atrion by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,385 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,291,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Atrion in the 3rd quarter valued at $208,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atrion in the 4th quarter valued at $108,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.19% of the company’s stock.

Atrion Company Profile

Atrion Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and sells products for fluid delivery, cardiovascular, and ophthalmic applications in the United States, Canada, Europe, and internationally. The company's fluid delivery products include valves that fill, hold, and release controlled amounts of fluids or gasses for use in various intubation, intravenous, catheter, and other applications in the anesthesia and oncology fields, as well as promote infection control in hospital and home healthcare environments.