Virco Mfg. (NASDAQ:VIRC) Downgraded by StockNews.com to "Hold"

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Virco Mfg. (NASDAQ:VIRC - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

Separately, Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $17.00 target price (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Virco Mfg. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th.

Virco Mfg. Price Performance

Shares of VIRC traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $10.92. 82,663 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 128,314. Virco Mfg. has a one year low of $8.75 and a one year high of $18.50. The firm has a market cap of $177.89 million, a P/E ratio of 7.03 and a beta of 0.77. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $11.93 and a 200-day moving average of $14.02.

Virco Mfg. (NASDAQ:VIRC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 8.93% and a return on equity of 24.63%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.62 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Virco Mfg. will post 1.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virco Mfg. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th were given a $0.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Virco Mfg.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.45%.

Virco Mfg. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in Virco Mfg. in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,153,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Virco Mfg. during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,013,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Virco Mfg. by 11.9% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 525,456 shares of the company's stock worth $7,325,000 after buying an additional 55,689 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Virco Mfg. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $572,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Virco Mfg. by 197.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 61,708 shares of the company's stock valued at $860,000 after acquiring an additional 40,942 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 30.97% of the company's stock.

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.