Daktronics (NASDAQ:DAKT) Coverage Initiated at Craig Hallum

Craig Hallum began coverage on shares of Daktronics (NASDAQ:DAKT) in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $26.00 target price on the technology company’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Daktronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th.

Daktronics Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ DAKT opened at $17.07 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $16.73 and a 200-day moving average of $14.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $803.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.28, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Daktronics has a 12 month low of $7.20 and a 12 month high of $19.89.

Daktronics (NASDAQ:DAKT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The technology company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($0.09). Daktronics had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 3.62%. Sell-side analysts expect that Daktronics will post 0.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Daktronics

In other news, CEO Reece A. Kurtenbach sold 8,048 shares of Daktronics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.75, for a total value of $150,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 469,727 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,807,381.25. The trade was a 1.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John Patrick Friel sold 2,244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.17, for a total value of $40,773.48. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 87,573 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,591,201.41. This trade represents a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 8.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Daktronics

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Daktronics by 25.8% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 18,339 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 3,758 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Daktronics during the 4th quarter valued at $170,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Daktronics by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 70,992 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $959,000 after acquiring an additional 654 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Daktronics by 348.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 58,388 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $754,000 after acquiring an additional 45,360 shares during the period. Finally, Virtus Fund Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Daktronics during the third quarter valued at about $75,000. 61.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Daktronics

Daktronics, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells electronic scoreboards, programmable display systems and large screen video displays for sporting, commercial, and transportation applications in the United States and internationally. It operates through Commercial, Live Events, High School Park and Recreation, Transportation, and International segments.