Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires Shares of 18,107 Miller Industries, Inc. $MLR

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Miller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLR) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 18,107 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $677,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MLR. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Miller Industries by 855.1% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 156,930 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $6,649,000 after purchasing an additional 140,500 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Miller Industries by 64.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 286,984 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $12,160,000 after purchasing an additional 112,925 shares during the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Miller Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,442,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Miller Industries by 22.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 566,171 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $22,885,000 after purchasing an additional 101,973 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. increased its position in shares of Miller Industries by 219.6% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 63,227 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,556,000 after purchasing an additional 43,444 shares during the last quarter. 79.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Miller Industries Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE MLR opened at $47.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 1.78. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $46.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.72. The company has a market capitalization of $547.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.81 and a beta of 1.13. Miller Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.81 and a 12 month high of $49.89.

Miller Industries (NYSE:MLR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The auto parts company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $180.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $181.10 million. Miller Industries had a net margin of 2.08% and a return on equity of 3.70%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Miller Industries, Inc. will post 1.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Miller Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. Miller Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MLR shares. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Miller Industries from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Loop Capital set a $44.00 price objective on shares of Miller Industries in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Zacks Research raised shares of Miller Industries from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Miller Industries in a research report on Friday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.00.

Miller Industries Profile

Miller Industries, Inc is a leading designer, engineer and manufacturer of towing and recovery vehicles and related equipment. The company’s product portfolio includes light-, medium- and heavy-duty tow trucks, integrated carriers, rotators, wreckers, trailers and associated hydraulic and electronic components. These products are marketed under well-known brand names, including Miller, Century, Holmes, Vulcan, Chevron and Jige International, serving a broad spectrum of customers in the towing, recovery, roadside assistance and vehicle transport industries.

Headquartered in Ooltewah, Tennessee, Miller Industries was founded in the early 1990s and has grown into a global supplier of towing and recovery solutions.