StockNews.com Downgrades Virco Mfg. (NASDAQ:VIRC) to Hold

Virco Mfg. (NASDAQ:VIRC) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Tuesday.

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

Virco Mfg. Stock Down 2.0 %

Virco Mfg. stock opened at $10.95 on Tuesday. Virco Mfg. has a fifty-two week low of $8.75 and a fifty-two week high of $18.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $178.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.06 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.05.

Virco Mfg. (NASDAQ:VIRC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.35). Virco Mfg. had a return on equity of 24.63% and a net margin of 8.93%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.62 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Virco Mfg. will post 1.54 EPS for the current year.

Virco Mfg. announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Virco Mfg. by 11.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 525,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,325,000 after buying an additional 55,689 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Virco Mfg. by 2.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 240,844 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,327,000 after acquiring an additional 6,710 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Virco Mfg. by 22.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 170,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,356,000 after purchasing an additional 31,415 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Virco Mfg. by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 97,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,347,000 after purchasing an additional 6,399 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in shares of Virco Mfg. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,153,000. 30.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.