Virco Manufacturing (NASDAQ:VIRC) Upgraded at Freedom Capital

Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Virco Manufacturing (NASDAQ:VIRC) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on VIRC. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Virco Manufacturing in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Virco Manufacturing from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Virco Manufacturing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VIRC opened at $5.62 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $6.22 and its 200 day moving average is $6.65. The company has a current ratio of 3.09, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market cap of $88.57 million, a PE ratio of 33.06 and a beta of 0.27. Virco Manufacturing has a twelve month low of $5.16 and a twelve month high of $10.62.

Virco Manufacturing (NASDAQ:VIRC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The company reported ($0.45) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.35) by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $26.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $29.61 million. Virco Manufacturing had a return on equity of 2.18% and a net margin of 1.29%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Virco Manufacturing will post 1.54 EPS for the current year.

Virco Manufacturing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 20th were given a $0.025 dividend. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 20th. Virco Manufacturing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.82%.

Institutional Trading of Virco Manufacturing

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Virco Manufacturing by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 40,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 5,741 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Virco Manufacturing by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 37,957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $243,000 after acquiring an additional 3,095 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in Virco Manufacturing by 41.4% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 29,481 shares of the company’s stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 8,628 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in Virco Manufacturing in the first quarter valued at $186,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in Virco Manufacturing by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 28,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $184,000 after purchasing an additional 4,427 shares during the last quarter. 30.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Virco Manufacturing Company Profile

Virco Manufacturing Corporation (NASDAQ: VIRC) is a leading American manufacturer of furniture, primarily serving the K-12 education market. Headquartered in Torrance, California, the company designs, produces and distributes a comprehensive range of classroom seating, student desks, tables and educational workstations. Over several decades, Virco has built a reputation for durable, cost-effective solutions tailored to the needs of schools, colleges and other institutional customers.

The company’s product portfolio includes molded plastic and wood-seat student chairs, modular and fixed-height desks, multi-purpose tables, computer furniture, laboratory stools and teacher furnishings.