Virco Mfg. (NASDAQ:VIRC) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Virco Mfg. (NASDAQ:VIRC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday.

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 note on Tuesday, December 10th.

Virco Mfg. Stock Performance

NASDAQ VIRC opened at $9.55 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Virco Mfg. has a fifty-two week low of $8.75 and a fifty-two week high of $18.50. The business has a fifty day moving average of $13.39 and a 200-day moving average of $14.37. The stock has a market cap of $155.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 0.77.

Virco Mfg. (NASDAQ:VIRC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Virco Mfg. will post 1.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Virco Mfg. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.025 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.05%. Virco Mfg.’s payout ratio is currently 6.45%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virco Mfg.

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Virco Mfg. by 129.1% during the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 6,231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 3,511 shares during the period. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in Virco Mfg. during the third quarter valued at about $90,000. Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Virco Mfg. during the third quarter worth about $140,000. Creative Planning purchased a new position in shares of Virco Mfg. in the 3rd quarter worth about $159,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 30.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Virco Mfg.

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.