Park Aerospace (NYSE:PKE) Shares Down 7.3% – Here’s What Happened

Park Aerospace Corp. (NYSE:PKE) traded down 7.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $32.85 and last traded at $32.6150. 247,017 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 13% from the average session volume of 284,788 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.17.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Park Aerospace from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Park Aerospace from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Park Aerospace presently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Park Aerospace Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $660.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.02 and a beta of 0.29. The company’s fifty day moving average is $28.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.78.

Park Aerospace Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Park Aerospace’s payout ratio is presently 116.28%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Park Aerospace

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PKE. Palisades Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Park Aerospace in the 3rd quarter worth $5,904,000. Next Century Growth Investors LLC lifted its holdings in Park Aerospace by 93.0% in the 4th quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC now owns 526,054 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $11,226,000 after buying an additional 253,508 shares in the last quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Park Aerospace in the 3rd quarter worth $4,984,000. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC acquired a new position in Park Aerospace in the 3rd quarter worth $3,060,000. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP lifted its holdings in Park Aerospace by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 3,191,411 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $68,105,000 after buying an additional 107,231 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.83% of the company’s stock.

Park Aerospace Company Profile

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.