Wall Street Zen Upgrades Methode Electronics (NYSE:MEI) to Buy

Methode Electronics (NYSE:MEI) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on MEI. Barrington Research raised Methode Electronics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Methode Electronics from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Methode Electronics from $8.50 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Sidoti reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Methode Electronics in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Methode Electronics in a research note on Friday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Methode Electronics has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $19.33.

Methode Electronics Price Performance

NYSE MEI opened at $15.34 on Friday. Methode Electronics has a fifty-two week low of $4.88 and a fifty-two week high of $20.38. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $13.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.79. The firm has a market cap of $544.11 million, a P/E ratio of -15.19 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 2.37 and a quick ratio of 1.66.

Methode Electronics (NYSE:MEI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The electronics maker reported ($0.30) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.11) by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $298.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $238.46 million. Methode Electronics had a negative return on equity of 5.59% and a negative net margin of 3.50%. On average, analysts anticipate that Methode Electronics will post -0.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Methode Electronics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Methode Electronics by 4.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,169,009 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $23,926,000 after buying an additional 136,842 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in shares of Methode Electronics by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,441,165 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $9,569,000 after acquiring an additional 120,202 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Methode Electronics by 31.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,380,436 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $9,166,000 after acquiring an additional 331,618 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Methode Electronics by 4.1% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,351,962 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $7,463,000 after acquiring an additional 52,821 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Methode Electronics by 29.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,209,756 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $11,505,000 after acquiring an additional 276,923 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.49% of the company’s stock.

Methode Electronics Company Profile

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.