Miller Industries (NYSE:MLR) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Strong Sell

Zacks Research cut shares of Miller Industries (NYSE:MLR) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report issued on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on MLR. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Miller Industries in a research report on Friday, March 27th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Miller Industries from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $44.00 target price on shares of Miller Industries in a report on Monday, March 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.00.

Miller Industries Price Performance

Miller Industries stock opened at $48.79 on Monday. Miller Industries has a 12-month low of $33.81 and a 12-month high of $49.89. The stock has a market cap of $556.16 million, a P/E ratio of 36.41 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.28.

Miller Industries (NYSE:MLR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The auto parts company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by ($0.17). Miller Industries had a net margin of 2.08% and a return on equity of 3.70%. The company had revenue of $180.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $181.10 million. Equities analysts expect that Miller Industries will post 1.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Miller Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. Miller Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.69%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Miller Industries by 41.9% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 13,019 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $552,000 after purchasing an additional 3,846 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Miller Industries by 4.9% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 6,624 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Miller Industries by 855.1% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 156,930 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $6,649,000 after purchasing an additional 140,500 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Miller Industries by 64.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 286,984 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $12,160,000 after purchasing an additional 112,925 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Miller Industries in the first quarter valued at about $182,000. 79.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Miller Industries

Miller Industries, Inc is a leading designer, engineer and manufacturer of towing and recovery vehicles and related equipment. The company’s product portfolio includes light-, medium- and heavy-duty tow trucks, integrated carriers, rotators, wreckers, trailers and associated hydraulic and electronic components. These products are marketed under well-known brand names, including Miller, Century, Holmes, Vulcan, Chevron and Jige International, serving a broad spectrum of customers in the towing, recovery, roadside assistance and vehicle transport industries.

Headquartered in Ooltewah, Tennessee, Miller Industries was founded in the early 1990s and has grown into a global supplier of towing and recovery solutions.