First Trust Advisors LP Sells 3,194 Shares of Virco Mfg. Co. (NASDAQ:VIRC)

First Trust Advisors LP lowered its holdings in shares of Virco Mfg. Co. (NASDAQ:VIRC) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,817 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,194 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Virco Mfg. were worth $306,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VIRC. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Virco Mfg. by 311.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 145,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,492,000 after acquiring an additional 110,173 shares in the last quarter. Quartz Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Virco Mfg. in the fourth quarter worth $883,000. Minerva Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Virco Mfg. by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Minerva Advisors LLC now owns 1,162,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,870,000 after purchasing an additional 60,900 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Virco Mfg. by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 453,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,644,000 after purchasing an additional 60,403 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Virco Mfg. by 42.1% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 104,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,068,000 after purchasing an additional 30,880 shares during the period. 30.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Virco Mfg. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd.

Virco Mfg. Stock Performance

Shares of Virco Mfg. stock opened at $8.77 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Virco Mfg. Co. has a 12 month low of $8.13 and a 12 month high of $18.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $141.08 million, a P/E ratio of 5.66 and a beta of 0.37.

Virco Mfg. (NASDAQ:VIRC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 14th. The company reported ($0.35) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by ($0.20). Virco Mfg. had a return on equity of 24.63% and a net margin of 8.93%. The firm had revenue of $28.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.00 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Virco Mfg. Co. will post 1.54 EPS for the current year.

Virco Mfg. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Virco Mfg. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 26th were issued a $0.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 26th. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. Virco Mfg.’s payout ratio is currently 7.46%.

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.