Methode Electronics (NYSE:MEI) Issues Earnings Results

Methode Electronics (NYSE:MEI) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The electronics maker reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by $0.05, FiscalAI reports. Methode Electronics had a negative return on equity of 5.59% and a negative net margin of 3.50%.The company had revenue of $265.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $238.31 million.

Methode Electronics Price Performance

Shares of Methode Electronics stock opened at $18.09 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $641.65 million, a P/E ratio of -17.91 and a beta of 1.54. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.40. Methode Electronics has a twelve month low of $4.88 and a twelve month high of $20.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.37.

Methode Electronics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 17th were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 17th. Methode Electronics’s payout ratio is -19.80%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MEI. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Methode Electronics by 4.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,169,009 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $23,926,000 after purchasing an additional 136,842 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Methode Electronics by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,441,165 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $9,569,000 after buying an additional 120,202 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Methode Electronics by 31.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,380,436 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $9,166,000 after buying an additional 331,618 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Methode Electronics by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,299,141 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $8,626,000 after buying an additional 32,161 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Methode Electronics by 29.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,209,756 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $11,505,000 after buying an additional 276,923 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.49% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MEI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Sidoti reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $17.00 target price on shares of Methode Electronics in a report on Friday, June 26th. Barrington Research upgraded Methode Electronics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Wall Street Zen cut Methode Electronics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Methode Electronics in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Methode Electronics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.00.

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.