Virco Mfg. Co. (NASDAQ:VIRC) Short Interest Down 18.2% in January

Virco Mfg. Co. (NASDAQ:VIRC - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,080,000 shares, a decrease of 18.2% from the January 15th total of 1,320,000 shares. Currently, 8.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 164,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.6 days.

Virco Mfg. Price Performance

Shares of VIRC stock traded down $0.18 on Wednesday, hitting $11.13. 44,872 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 126,451. Virco Mfg. has a 12 month low of $8.75 and a 12 month 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $10.75 and a 200 day moving average of $13.51. The stock has a market cap of $181.31 million, a P/E ratio of 7.20 and a beta of 0.76.

Virco Mfg. (NASDAQ:VIRC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.62 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Virco Mfg. will post 1.54 EPS for the current year.

Virco Mfg. declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Virco Mfg. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th were given a $0.025 dividend. 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 0.90%. Virco Mfg.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on VIRC. StockNews.com cut shares of Virco Mfg. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $17.00 price objective (down from $20.00) on shares of Virco Mfg. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bastion Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Virco Mfg. in the 4th quarter worth about $1,603,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Virco Mfg. by 311.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 145,530 shares of the company's stock worth $1,492,000 after purchasing an additional 110,173 shares during the last quarter. Quartz Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Virco Mfg. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $883,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in Virco Mfg. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,153,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Virco Mfg. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,013,000. 30.97% of the stock is currently owned by 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.