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

Virco Mfg. Co. (NASDAQ:VIRC) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,360,000 shares, an increase of 16.2% from the August 15th total of 1,170,000 shares. Currently, 10.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 307,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.4 days.

Virco Mfg. Stock Up 4.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ VIRC opened at $15.48 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Virco Mfg. has a 52 week low of $5.20 and a 52 week high of $18.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $15.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $252.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.92 and a beta of 0.65.

Virco Mfg. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Friday, September 20th will be paid a $0.025 dividend. This is a boost from Virco Mfg.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 20th. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Virco Mfg.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.13%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virco Mfg.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Algert Global LLC raised its position in Virco Mfg. by 17.2% during the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 12,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,000 after acquiring an additional 1,785 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in Virco Mfg. by 115.6% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 1,850 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Virco Mfg. during the second quarter worth about $36,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Virco Mfg. during the first quarter worth about $90,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Virco Mfg. during the second quarter worth about $127,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 30.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on VIRC shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Virco Mfg. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective (up previously from $16.00) on shares of Virco Mfg. in a research note on Friday, June 7th.

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.