Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Makes New $1.47 Million Investment in Methode Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:MEI)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Methode Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:MEI) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 122,616 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,466,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Methode Electronics during the 1st quarter worth $136,000. Entropy Technologies LP raised its holdings in shares of Methode Electronics by 44.5% in the first quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 49,929 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $608,000 after buying an additional 15,380 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Methode Electronics by 424.9% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 52,966 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $645,000 after buying an additional 42,875 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Methode Electronics by 7.0% during the first quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 75,294 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $917,000 after buying an additional 4,935 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Methode Electronics by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,679,605 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $56,998,000 after acquiring an additional 30,994 shares during the period. 95.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David P. Blom purchased 9,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $10.81 per share, with a total value of $100,749.20. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 37,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $405,710.11. The trade was a 33.04 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Mary A. Lindsey acquired 8,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $11.38 per share, with a total value of $100,144.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 25,970 shares in the company, valued at $295,538.60. This represents a 51.25 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Methode Electronics Stock Performance

NYSE MEI opened at $9.72 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $342.53 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.41 and a beta of 0.76. The business’s 50 day moving average is $10.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.94. Methode Electronics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.54 and a 12-month high of $25.34. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Methode Electronics (NYSE:MEI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 5th. The electronics maker reported ($0.31) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.28) by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $258.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $267.66 million. Methode Electronics had a negative return on equity of 3.50% and a negative net margin of 13.15%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.06 EPS. Research analysts expect that Methode Electronics, Inc. will post -0.62 EPS for the current year.

Methode Electronics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. Methode Electronics’s dividend payout ratio is currently -13.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on MEI shares. StockNews.com raised Methode Electronics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Methode Electronics from $15.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 6th.

About Methode Electronics

Methode Electronics, Inc designs, engineers, and produces mechatronic products worldwide. It operates through four segments: Automotive, Industrial, Interface, and Medical. The Automotive segment supplies electronic and electro-mechanical devices, and related products to automobile original equipment manufacturers directly or through their tiered suppliers.