Essex Investment Management Co. LLC Makes New $1.45 Million Investment in Methode Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:MEI)

Essex Investment Management Co. LLC bought a new stake in Methode Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:MEI) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 122,533 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,445,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MEI. AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in shares of Methode Electronics by 196.8% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 4,509 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 2,990 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Methode Electronics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $126,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Methode Electronics in the third quarter valued at approximately $178,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Methode Electronics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Finally, Inceptionr LLC acquired a new position in shares of Methode Electronics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $222,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.49% of the company’s stock.

Methode Electronics Trading Down 5.9 %

Methode Electronics stock opened at $6.57 on Monday. Methode Electronics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $6.26 and a 12-month high of $17.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $234.09 million, a PE ratio of -2.59 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 2.75 and a quick ratio of 1.73.

Methode Electronics (NYSE:MEI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The electronics maker reported ($0.21) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.17) by ($0.04). Methode Electronics had a negative net margin of 8.16% and a negative return on equity of 3.26%. The firm had revenue of $239.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $264.01 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.33) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Methode Electronics, Inc. will post -0.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Methode Electronics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. Methode Electronics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -21.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MEI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Sidoti upgraded Methode Electronics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Methode Electronics from $14.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday.

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.