Short Interest in Virco Mfg. Co. (NASDAQ:VIRC) Drops By 18.2%

Virco Mfg. Co. (NASDAQ:VIRC) was the target of a significant 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. Approximately 8.0% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 164,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.6 days.

Virco Mfg. Trading Up 1.2 %

Virco Mfg. stock opened at $11.67 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.88 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. The company has a market capitalization of $190.10 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.53 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $10.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.61.

Virco Mfg. (NASDAQ:VIRC) last released its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the company posted $0.62 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Virco Mfg. will post 1.54 EPS for the current year.

Virco Mfg. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th were issued a dividend of $0.025 per share. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. Virco Mfg.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.45%.

Virco Mfg. announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 21st that permits the company to buyback $10.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. IFP Advisors Inc purchased a new position in Virco Mfg. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Virco Mfg. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Virco Mfg. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $72,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in Virco Mfg. by 129.1% during the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 6,231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 3,511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in Virco Mfg. during the third quarter valued at approximately $90,000. 30.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on VIRC shares. StockNews.com downgraded Virco Mfg. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $17.00 price target (down previously 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.