Vishay Precision Group (NYSE:VPG) Lowered to Strong Sell Rating by Zacks Research

Vishay Precision Group (NYSE:VPG) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Lake Street Capital set a $54.00 price objective on Vishay Precision Group and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings cut Vishay Precision Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Vishay Precision Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $63.00 price objective (up from $45.00) on shares of Vishay Precision Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Loop Capital set a $44.00 target price on shares of Vishay Precision Group in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.67.

Vishay Precision Group Trading Down 5.4%

Vishay Precision Group stock opened at $44.16 on Thursday. Vishay Precision Group has a 52-week low of $18.57 and a 52-week high of $56.25. The company has a market cap of $586.43 million, a P/E ratio of 110.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 2.71, a current ratio of 4.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.75.

Vishay Precision Group (NYSE:VPG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $80.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $78.08 million. Vishay Precision Group had a return on equity of 2.17% and a net margin of 1.72%. Analysts predict that Vishay Precision Group will post 0.9 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vishay Precision Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Acuitas Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vishay Precision Group by 1,319.6% in the third quarter. Acuitas Investments LLC now owns 1,012,976 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $32,466,000 after buying an additional 941,622 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC bought a new stake in Vishay Precision Group in the 4th quarter valued at $9,822,000. CSM Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Vishay Precision Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,565,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in Vishay Precision Group by 120.7% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 311,377 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $11,988,000 after purchasing an additional 170,307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in shares of Vishay Precision Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,689,000. 87.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vishay Precision Group Company Profile

Vishay Precision Group (NYSE: VPG) specializes in the design, manufacture and calibration of precision sensors, instrumentation and measurement systems used in a broad range of applications. Its product portfolio includes load cells, tension links, weighing modules, torque transducers, digital indicators and data acquisition systems. These solutions serve critical requirements for accuracy, reliability and repeatability in sectors such as industrial automation, test and measurement, medical devices, food and beverage processing, aerospace and defense.

The company traces its roots to the sensor and measurement division of Vishay Intertechnology, Inc, from which it was spun off as an independent public company in March 2016.