Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 1,604 Shares of Virco Mfg. Co. (NASDAQ:VIRC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Virco Mfg. Co. (NASDAQ:VIRC) by 11.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,656 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,604 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.10% of Virco Mfg. worth $160,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Virco Mfg. by 129.1% in the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 6,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 3,511 shares during the period. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. bought a new position in Virco Mfg. in the 3rd quarter worth $90,000. Walleye Capital LLC bought a new position in Virco Mfg. in the 3rd quarter worth $140,000. Creative Planning bought a new position in Virco Mfg. in the 3rd quarter worth $159,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Virco Mfg. by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 16,653 shares of the company’s stock worth $171,000 after buying an additional 1,753 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 30.97% of the company’s stock.

Virco Mfg. Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of VIRC stock opened at $10.51 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $171.20 million, a P/E ratio of 6.78 and a beta of 0.76. Virco Mfg. Co. has a 52 week low of $9.08 and a 52 week high of $18.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.07.

Virco Mfg. (NASDAQ:VIRC) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 24.63% and a net margin of 8.93%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.62 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Virco Mfg. Co. will post 1.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virco Mfg. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 21st that allows the company to buyback $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on VIRC shares. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $17.00 price target (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Virco Mfg. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com cut shares of Virco Mfg. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th.

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.