Virco Mfg. (NASDAQ:VIRC) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

Virco Mfg. (NASDAQ:VIRC) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday.

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

Virco Mfg. Price Performance

Virco Mfg. stock opened at $11.25 on Tuesday. Virco Mfg. has a 12-month low of $8.75 and a 12-month high of $18.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $183.26 million, a P/E ratio of 7.26 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $12.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 1.70.

Virco Mfg. (NASDAQ:VIRC) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $0.62 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Virco Mfg. will post 1.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Virco Mfg. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 reacquire up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Virco Mfg.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Algert Global LLC increased its stake in shares of Virco Mfg. by 17.2% in the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 12,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,000 after buying an additional 1,785 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 2,961 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 3,511 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Virco Mfg. by 7.0% during the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 97,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,347,000 after acquiring an additional 6,399 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Virco Mfg. by 12.5% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 58,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $805,000 after acquiring an additional 6,481 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 30.97% of the company’s stock.

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.