Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC Acquires 62,470 Shares of Methode Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:MEI)

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Methode Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:MEI) by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,123,760 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 62,470 shares during the quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC owned 3.19% of Methode Electronics worth $13,440,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. nVerses Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Methode Electronics by 1,600.0% in the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 3,400 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Methode Electronics by 749.7% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,693 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 5,023 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in Methode Electronics by 685.1% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,730 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 7,618 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Methode Electronics during the second quarter valued at about $111,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in Methode Electronics by 17.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 12,062 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $125,000 after acquiring an additional 1,758 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.49% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mary A. Lindsey purchased 8,800 shares of Methode Electronics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $11.38 per share, for a total transaction of $100,144.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $295,538.60. This represents a 51.25 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director David P. Blom acquired 9,320 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $10.81 per share, with a total value of $100,749.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 37,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $405,710.11. This represents a 33.04 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Methode Electronics Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of MEI opened at $11.09 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market cap of $390.81 million, a PE ratio of -2.75 and a beta of 0.81. Methode Electronics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.54 and a 1 year high of $25.34. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.78.

Methode Electronics (NYSE:MEI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 5th. The electronics maker reported ($0.31) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.28) by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $258.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $267.66 million. Methode Electronics had a negative net margin of 13.15% and a negative return on equity of 3.50%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.06 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Methode Electronics, Inc. will post -0.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Methode Electronics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th were issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. Methode Electronics’s payout ratio is currently -13.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MEI. StockNews.com raised Methode Electronics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Methode Electronics from $15.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 6th.

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.