Virco Mfg. (NASDAQ:VIRC) Lowered to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Virco Mfg. (NASDAQ:VIRC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Tuesday.

Separately, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $17.00 target price (down from $20.00) on shares of Virco Mfg. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th.

Virco Mfg. Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VIRC opened at $11.02 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $11.93 and its 200-day moving average is $14.02. Virco Mfg. has a 1 year low of $8.75 and a 1 year high of $18.50. The company has a market capitalization of $179.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.11 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 1.70.

Virco Mfg. (NASDAQ:VIRC) last released its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.35). Virco Mfg. had a net margin of 8.93% and a return on equity of 24.63%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.62 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Virco Mfg. will post 1.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Virco Mfg. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a dividend of $0.025 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. Virco Mfg.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.45%.

Virco Mfg. declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virco Mfg.

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Virco Mfg. by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 16,653 shares of the company’s stock worth $171,000 after buying an additional 1,753 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC grew its stake in Virco Mfg. by 17.2% in the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 12,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 1,785 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Virco Mfg. by 25.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,000 after purchasing an additional 2,961 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Virco Mfg. by 129.1% in the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 6,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 3,511 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in Virco Mfg. by 7.0% during the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 97,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,347,000 after buying an additional 6,399 shares during the period. 30.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Virco Mfg. Company Profile

Virco Mfg. Corporation engages in the design, production, and distribution of furniture in the United States and Canada. The company offers seating products, including 4-leg chairs, cantilever chairs, mobile task chairs and lab stools, tablet armchairs, steel-frame and floor rockers, series stools, hard plastic seating, folding and upholstered stack chairs, and plastic stack and upholstered ergonomic chairs.