Virco Mfg. (NASDAQ:VIRC) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

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

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

Virco Mfg. Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VIRC opened at $9.59 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $10.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.63. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Virco Mfg. has a 12-month low of $9.08 and a 12-month high of $18.50. The firm has a market cap of $156.21 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.19 and a beta of 0.76.

Virco Mfg. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 26th will be issued a $0.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 26th. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. Virco Mfg.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.45%.

Virco Mfg. declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 21st that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virco Mfg.

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Virco Mfg. by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 93,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $961,000 after buying an additional 870 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Virco Mfg. by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,000 after buying an additional 1,604 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Virco Mfg. by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 16,653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $171,000 after buying an additional 1,753 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Virco Mfg. by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 16,633 shares of the company’s stock valued at $170,000 after buying an additional 2,188 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Virco Mfg. by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 35,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $361,000 after buying an additional 2,360 shares during the period. 30.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.