Towle & Co. Raises Holdings in Methode Electronics, Inc. $MEI

Towle & Co. lifted its position in shares of Methode Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:MEI) by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,033,223 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 77,302 shares during the quarter. Methode Electronics makes up 2.0% of Towle & Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Towle & Co.’s holdings in Methode Electronics were worth $7,801,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Methode Electronics by 1,027.4% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,089 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 2,815 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Methode Electronics by 9.3% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 54,040 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $514,000 after purchasing an additional 4,600 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Methode Electronics by 25.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 27,072 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $201,000 after buying an additional 5,570 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Methode Electronics by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 127,268 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $812,000 after buying an additional 9,787 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in Methode Electronics by 52.3% in the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 28,598 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 9,817 shares during the period. 95.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MEI. Zacks Research raised shares of Methode Electronics to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $8.50 price objective on Methode Electronics in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Methode Electronics in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Methode Electronics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.25.

Methode Electronics Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of MEI stock opened at $8.76 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $310.17 million, a PE ratio of -4.92 and a beta of 1.08. Methode Electronics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $5.08 and a 52-week high of $11.74. The business’s fifty day moving average is $7.62 and its 200 day moving average is $7.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.55.

Methode Electronics (NYSE:MEI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, December 3rd. The electronics maker reported ($0.19) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.20) by $0.01. Methode Electronics had a negative return on equity of 7.10% and a negative net margin of 6.39%.The business had revenue of $246.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $237.69 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Methode Electronics, Inc. will post -0.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Methode Electronics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Friday, January 16th were paid a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 16th. Methode Electronics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -11.24%.

About Methode Electronics

Methode Electronics, Inc is a Chicago-based global manufacturer of custom-engineered electronic and electromechanical components and assemblies. Founded in 1946, Methode specializes in providing solutions that integrate electrical connectors, sensors, switches, human-machine interface devices and power distribution modules. The company’s product portfolio addresses complex application requirements across a broad range of end markets, including automotive, industrial, energy, healthcare and data/telecommunications.

In its automotive segment, Methode develops advanced connector systems, circuit protection devices and thermal management solutions for internal combustion, hybrid and electric vehicles.