Principal Financial Group Inc. Makes New Investment in Virco Mfg. Co. (NASDAQ:VIRC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Virco Mfg. Co. (NASDAQ:VIRC) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 14,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $194,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Virco Mfg. by 129.1% during the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 6,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 3,511 shares during the period. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Virco Mfg. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $90,000. Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Virco Mfg. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $140,000. Creative Planning acquired a new stake in shares of Virco Mfg. in the 3rd quarter valued at $159,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC lifted its position in shares of Virco Mfg. by 17.2% during the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 12,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,000 after purchasing an additional 1,785 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 30.97% of the company’s stock.

Virco Mfg. Trading Down 2.4 %

NASDAQ VIRC opened at $9.80 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $13.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.47. Virco Mfg. Co. 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 1.20. The company has a market capitalization of $159.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.32 and a beta of 0.77.

Virco Mfg. (NASDAQ:VIRC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (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 in the previous year, the business posted $0.62 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Virco Mfg. Co. will post 1.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Virco Mfg. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be paid a $0.025 dividend. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. Virco Mfg.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Virco Mfg. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $17.00 target price (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Virco Mfg. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th.

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.