Virco Mfg. (NASDAQ:VIRC) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

Virco Mfg. (NASDAQ:VIRC) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Thursday.

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

Virco Mfg. Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VIRC traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $9.55. The company had a trading volume of 103,651 shares, compared to its average volume of 153,010. The stock has a market cap of $155.56 million, a P/E ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $13.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.37. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Virco Mfg. has a 52-week low of $8.75 and a 52-week high of $18.50.

Virco Mfg. (NASDAQ:VIRC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.35). Virco Mfg. had a net margin of 8.93% and a return on equity of 24.63%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.62 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Virco Mfg. will post 1.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virco Mfg.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in Virco Mfg. by 129.1% during the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 6,231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 3,511 shares in the last quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. bought a new position in shares of Virco Mfg. during the third quarter valued at $90,000. Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Virco Mfg. in the 3rd quarter worth about $140,000. Creative Planning purchased a new position in shares of Virco Mfg. in the 3rd quarter worth about $159,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC boosted its stake in Virco Mfg. by 17.2% in the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 12,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,000 after purchasing an additional 1,785 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.