Transcat (NASDAQ:TRNS) Downgraded by Zacks Research to “Strong Sell”

Zacks Research cut shares of Transcat (NASDAQ:TRNS) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Transcat in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $105.33.

Transcat Stock Performance

NASDAQ TRNS opened at $75.52 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 1.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $704.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.85 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s fifty day moving average is $73.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.79. Transcat has a 52-week low of $50.23 and a 52-week high of $97.08.

Transcat (NASDAQ:TRNS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $83.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.99 million. Transcat had a return on equity of 6.15% and a net margin of 2.47%. Equities research analysts forecast that Transcat will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Transcat

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in TRNS. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Transcat by 677.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 248,539 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $14,100,000 after acquiring an additional 216,579 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Transcat during the 4th quarter valued at about $7,259,000. King Luther Capital Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Transcat by 182.3% during the 4th quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 103,750 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $5,886,000 after acquiring an additional 67,000 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP boosted its position in shares of Transcat by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 390,546 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $22,156,000 after acquiring an additional 51,774 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Transcat by 109.7% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 95,200 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $5,401,000 after acquiring an additional 49,800 shares in the last quarter. 98.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Transcat

Transcat, Inc (NASDAQ: TRNS) is a leading provider of calibration, laboratory, and metrology services in North America. Founded in 1964 and headquartered in Ronkonkoma, New York, the company specializes in ensuring the accuracy and compliance of measurement instruments across a wide range of industries. Transcat operates a network of ISO/IEC 17025–accredited laboratories and offers on-site field calibration, instrument repair, and preventive maintenance services.

In addition to its calibration services, Transcat distributes precision instrumentation and related software solutions from top manufacturers.