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

Virco Mfg. Co. (NASDAQ:VIRC) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,080,000 shares, a drop of 18.2% from the January 15th total of 1,320,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 164,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.6 days. Approximately 8.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Virco Mfg. Stock Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ VIRC opened at $11.67 on Monday. Virco Mfg. has a 52 week low of $8.75 and a 52 week high of $18.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $190.10 million, a P/E ratio of 7.53 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $10.81 and a 200-day moving average of $13.58.

Virco Mfg. (NASDAQ:VIRC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.35). Virco Mfg. had a return on equity of 24.63% and a net margin of 8.93%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.62 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Virco Mfg. will post 1.54 EPS for the current year.

Virco Mfg. declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Virco Mfg. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th were given a $0.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Virco Mfg.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.45%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Creative Planning bought a new position in Virco Mfg. during the third quarter worth about $159,000. Inspire Advisors LLC bought a new position in Virco Mfg. during the third quarter worth about $572,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in Virco Mfg. during the third quarter worth about $1,153,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Virco Mfg. during the third quarter worth about $194,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Virco Mfg. during the third quarter worth about $1,013,000. 30.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VIRC. StockNews.com cut Virco Mfg. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $17.00 price target (down from $20.00) on shares of Virco Mfg. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th.

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.