Zacks Research Downgrades Vishay Precision Group (NYSE:VPG) to Strong Sell

Vishay Precision Group (NYSE:VPG) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

VPG has been the topic of several other reports. Loop Capital set a $44.00 target price on shares of Vishay Precision Group in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Lake Street Capital set a $54.00 price objective on Vishay Precision Group and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings cut Vishay Precision Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $63.00 price target (up previously from $45.00) on shares of Vishay Precision Group in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Vishay Precision Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.67.

Vishay Precision Group Stock Down 5.4%

NYSE VPG opened at $44.16 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $43.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.75. Vishay Precision Group has a one year low of $18.57 and a one year high of $56.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.71 and a current ratio of 4.10. The company has a market capitalization of $586.43 million, a P/E ratio of 110.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.85.

Vishay Precision Group (NYSE:VPG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by ($0.14). Vishay Precision Group had a net margin of 1.72% and a return on equity of 2.17%. The business had revenue of $80.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $78.08 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vishay Precision Group will post 0.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vishay Precision Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VPG. Acuitas Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Vishay Precision Group by 1,319.6% during the third quarter. Acuitas Investments LLC now owns 1,012,976 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $32,466,000 after purchasing an additional 941,622 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Vishay Precision Group by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 937,553 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $30,049,000 after buying an additional 24,235 shares during the period. AIGH Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Vishay Precision Group by 60.7% during the 2nd quarter. AIGH Capital Management LLC now owns 423,484 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $11,900,000 after buying an additional 159,919 shares in the last quarter. Harvey Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Vishay Precision Group by 21.3% during the 3rd quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 372,000 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $11,923,000 after buying an additional 65,315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Vishay Precision Group by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 342,135 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $9,614,000 after buying an additional 8,923 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.61% of the company’s stock.

About Vishay Precision Group

Vishay Precision Group (NYSE: VPG) specializes in the design, manufacture and calibration of precision sensors, instrumentation and measurement systems used in a broad range of applications. Its product portfolio includes load cells, tension links, weighing modules, torque transducers, digital indicators and data acquisition systems. These solutions serve critical requirements for accuracy, reliability and repeatability in sectors such as industrial automation, test and measurement, medical devices, food and beverage processing, aerospace and defense.

The company traces its roots to the sensor and measurement division of Vishay Intertechnology, Inc, from which it was spun off as an independent public company in March 2016.