Miller Industries (NYSE:MLR) Sees Large Volume Increase – Time to Buy?

Miller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLR) shares saw strong trading volume on Wednesday . 82,753 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 27% from the previous session’s volume of 64,925 shares.The stock last traded at $68.76 and had previously closed at $68.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on MLR. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of Miller Industries in a research report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com cut Miller Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th.

Miller Industries Trading Down 3.5 %

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.70. The company has a market cap of $763.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.12 and a quick ratio of 1.46.

Miller Industries (NYSE:MLR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The auto parts company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.33. Miller Industries had a return on equity of 18.76% and a net margin of 5.23%. The company had revenue of $314.27 million during the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.52 EPS. Research analysts predict that Miller Industries, Inc. will post 5.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Miller Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. Miller Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.60%.

Institutional Trading of Miller Industries

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MLR. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Miller Industries by 10.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 766,623 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $46,764,000 after purchasing an additional 71,231 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Miller Industries by 193.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 92,955 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $5,670,000 after purchasing an additional 61,247 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in shares of Miller Industries by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 496,528 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $30,288,000 after buying an additional 56,578 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Miller Industries by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 367,793 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $22,435,000 after buying an additional 37,480 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Miller Industries by 94.1% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 63,360 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $3,486,000 after acquiring an additional 30,714 shares during the period. 79.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Miller Industries

Miller Industries, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells towing and recovery equipment. The company offers wreckers that are used to recover and tow disabled vehicles and other equipment; and car carriers, which are specialized flat-bed vehicles with hydraulic tilt mechanisms, which are used to transport new or disabled vehicles and other equipment.