Virco Mfg. (NASDAQ:VIRC) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Virco Mfg. (NASDAQ:VIRC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Saturday morning.

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

Virco Mfg. Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VIRC opened at $9.46 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $154.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.10 and a beta of 0.76. Virco Mfg. has a 12 month low of $9.08 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 firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $10.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.41.

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

Virco Mfg. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.025 per share. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 26th. Virco Mfg.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.45%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virco Mfg.

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VIRC. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Virco Mfg. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $194,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Virco Mfg. by 510.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 30,221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $417,000 after buying an additional 25,269 shares in the last quarter. Minerva Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Virco Mfg. by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Minerva Advisors LLC now owns 1,162,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,870,000 after purchasing an additional 60,900 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Virco Mfg. by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 240,844 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,327,000 after purchasing an additional 6,710 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Virco Mfg. by 22.6% during 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 last quarter. 30.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.