Richardson Electronics, Ltd. (NASDAQ:RELL) Short Interest Up 19.0% in March

Richardson Electronics, Ltd. (NASDAQ:RELL) saw a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 419,318 shares, a growth of 19.0% from the February 26th total of 352,365 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 88,884 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.7 days. Approximately 4.3% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Richardson Electronics Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of RELL stock opened at $10.95 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $158.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 219.04, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $11.93 and a 200 day moving average of $11.07. Richardson Electronics has a 52 week low of $7.57 and a 52 week high of $15.34.

Richardson Electronics (NASDAQ:RELL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 7th. The technology company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01). Richardson Electronics had a net margin of 0.38% and a return on equity of 3.30%. The business had revenue of $52.29 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.90 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.05) EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Richardson Electronics will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Richardson Electronics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. Richardson Electronics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 480.00%.

Insider Activity at Richardson Electronics

In other Richardson Electronics news, EVP Jens Frank Ruppert sold 17,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.09, for a total value of $205,530.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $477,555. The trade was a 30.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kenneth Halverson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.09, for a total transaction of $130,900.00. Following the sale, the director owned 14,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $187,776.05. The trade was a 41.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 36,000 shares of company stock valued at $447,890. Insiders own 33.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Richardson Electronics

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Richardson Electronics by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. now owns 838,077 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $8,087,000 after acquiring an additional 89,603 shares in the last quarter. AMH Equity Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Richardson Electronics during the third quarter valued at approximately $783,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Richardson Electronics in the fourth quarter worth $626,000. Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Richardson Electronics in the fourth quarter worth $497,000. Finally, Susquehanna International Group LLP raised its holdings in Richardson Electronics by 840.6% in the third quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 48,740 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $477,000 after purchasing an additional 43,558 shares in the last quarter. 71.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on RELL shares. Northland Securities set a $11.00 target price on Richardson Electronics in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings lowered Richardson Electronics from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Richardson Electronics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $11.00.

About Richardson Electronics

Richardson Electronics, Ltd. (NASDAQ:RELL) is a global manufacturer, distributor and servicer of engineered components and subsystems for a diverse range of industrial, medical and scientific applications. The company specializes in vacuum electron devices, high-voltage power supplies and related electronic components, offering klystrons, traveling wave tubes, magnetrons, X-ray tubes, microwave amplifiers and power conversion products. Its solutions support customers in power grid management, semiconductor processing, medical imaging, scientific instrumentation and telecommunications.

In addition to its manufacturing capabilities, Richardson Electronics maintains a broad distribution network comprising thousands of standard and custom parts.