Vishay Precision Group, Inc. (NYSE:VPG) Short Interest Up 17.7% in February

Vishay Precision Group, Inc. (NYSE:VPG) saw a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 243,800 shares, a growth of 17.7% from the February 13th total of 207,200 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 87,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days. Approximately 2.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vishay Precision Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Vishay Precision Group in the third quarter valued at $51,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vishay Precision Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $66,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vishay Precision Group during the 4th quarter worth about $184,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in shares of Vishay Precision Group by 32.3% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 8,067 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $189,000 after purchasing an additional 1,970 shares during the period. Finally, EMC Capital Management raised its holdings in Vishay Precision Group by 577.8% in the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 9,069 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $213,000 after buying an additional 7,731 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.61% of the company’s stock.

Vishay Precision Group Price Performance

VPG stock opened at $22.53 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $298.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.45 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.56. Vishay Precision Group has a 52-week low of $20.83 and a 52-week high of $35.52. The company has a quick ratio of 2.80, a current ratio of 4.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Vishay Precision Group (NYSE:VPG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.10). Vishay Precision Group had a return on equity of 3.87% and a net margin of 3.23%. Equities research analysts expect that Vishay Precision Group will post 0.9 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on VPG shares. B. Riley upgraded Vishay Precision Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $24.50 to $28.50 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Vishay Precision Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st.

About Vishay Precision Group

Vishay Precision Group, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets specialized sensors, weighing solutions, and measurement systems in the United States, Israel, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, Asia, and Canada. It operates through three segments: Sensors, Weighing Solutions, and Measurement Systems.