Virco Mfg. Co. (NASDAQ:VIRC) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Virco Mfg. Co. (NASDAQ:VIRC) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 459,400 shares, a growth of 22.7% from the May 31st total of 374,500 shares. Approximately 3.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 183,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Institutional Trading of Virco Mfg.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Virco Mfg. by 115.6% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 1,850 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Virco Mfg. in the third quarter valued at about $74,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Virco Mfg. in the first quarter valued at about $90,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Virco Mfg. in the third quarter valued at about $146,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Virco Mfg. in the fourth quarter valued at about $160,000. 30.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Virco Mfg. Stock Performance

NASDAQ VIRC traded up $0.12 on Friday, reaching $13.94. The stock had a trading volume of 2,149,080 shares, compared to its average volume of 308,037. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.30 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $12.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.60. Virco Mfg. has a 1-year low of $3.85 and a 1-year high of $17.83. The company has a market cap of $225.97 million, a P/E ratio of 8.94 and a beta of 0.67.

Virco Mfg. (NASDAQ:VIRC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 7th. The company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $46.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.70 million. Virco Mfg. had a return on equity of 28.41% and a net margin of 9.07%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Virco Mfg. will post 1.86 EPS for the current year.

Virco Mfg. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Investors of record on Friday, June 21st will be given a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 21st. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Virco Mfg.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on VIRC shares. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $19.00 target price (up from $16.00) on shares of Virco Mfg. in a report on Friday, June 7th. StockNews.com lowered Virco Mfg. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th.

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.