StockNews.com Downgrades Virco Mfg. (NASDAQ:VIRC) to Hold

Virco Mfg. (NASDAQ:VIRC) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday.

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

Virco Mfg. Stock Performance

Shares of VIRC traded up $0.19 on Wednesday, reaching $9.97. 45,282 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 190,186. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market cap of $162.40 million, a PE ratio of 6.43 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $10.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.69. Virco Mfg. has a 52-week low of $9.08 and a 52-week high of $18.50.

Virco Mfg. declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 21st that permits the company to buyback $10.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virco Mfg.

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Virco Mfg. in the third quarter worth $194,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Virco Mfg. by 510.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 30,221 shares of the company’s stock worth $417,000 after acquiring an additional 25,269 shares during the period. Minerva Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Virco Mfg. by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Minerva Advisors LLC now owns 1,162,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,870,000 after acquiring an additional 60,900 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Virco Mfg. by 2.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 240,844 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,327,000 after acquiring an additional 6,710 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Virco Mfg. by 22.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 170,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,356,000 after acquiring an additional 31,415 shares during the period. 30.97% of the stock is 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.