Miller Industries (NYSE:MLR) Cut to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Miller Industries (NYSE:MLR) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report published on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on MLR. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Miller Industries in a research note on Monday, September 21st. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Miller Industries from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Miller Industries from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Miller Industries Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Miller Industries stock opened at $51.42 on Friday. Miller Industries has a 12-month low of $35.72 and a 12-month high of $59.70. The stock has a market cap of $583.62 million, a P/E ratio of 41.51 and a beta of 1.12. The business’s 50 day moving average is $54.31 and its 200-day moving average is $48.63.

Miller Industries (NYSE:MLR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The auto parts company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.27. Miller Industries had a return on equity of 3.41% and a net margin of 1.86%. The company had revenue of $239.99 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $210.80 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Miller Industries will post 1.95 EPS for the current year.

Miller Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 8th. Miller Industries’s payout ratio is 67.74%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Miller Industries

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MLR. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Miller Industries by 124.1% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 46,565 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $2,121,000 after acquiring an additional 25,785 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Miller Industries during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,985,000. Heartland Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Miller Industries in the first quarter valued at approximately $5,466,000. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Miller Industries by 36.1% in the first quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. now owns 110,477 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $5,032,000 after acquiring an additional 29,291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor acquired a new position in Miller Industries during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,187,000. Institutional investors own 79.24% of the company’s stock.

About Miller Industries

Miller Industries, Inc designs, manufactures and sells towing and recovery equipment. Its product portfolio includes light-, medium- and heavy-duty tow trucks, vehicle carriers, wreckers, rotators, underlift systems and related equipment used to recover, transport and service disabled vehicles.

The company markets products under brands including Century, Vulcan, Chevron, Holmes and Champion. It also provides replacement parts and related support for its equipment. Miller Industries sells through a network of distributors and dealers to towing operators, transportation companies, government agencies and other commercial customers.

Headquartered in Ooltewah, Tennessee, Miller Industries serves customers in North America and international markets.