Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 1,604 Shares of Virco Mfg. Co. (NASDAQ:VIRC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Virco Mfg. Co. (NASDAQ:VIRC) by 11.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,656 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,604 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Virco Mfg. were worth $160,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,753 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Virco Mfg. by 510.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 30,221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $417,000 after purchasing an additional 25,269 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Virco Mfg. by 25.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,000 after purchasing an additional 2,961 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Virco Mfg. by 2.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 240,844 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,327,000 after purchasing an additional 6,710 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Virco Mfg. during the third quarter valued at approximately $180,000. 30.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VIRC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $17.00 price objective (down from $20.00) on shares of Virco Mfg. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Virco Mfg. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th.

Virco Mfg. Price Performance

Shares of VIRC opened at $10.51 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $171.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.78 and a beta of 0.76. Virco Mfg. Co. has a twelve month low of $9.08 and a twelve month high of $18.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a 50 day moving average of $10.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.07.

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 earned $0.62 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Virco Mfg. Co. will post 1.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Virco Mfg. 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.