Azarias Capital Management L.P. Sells 85,754 Shares of Miller Industries, Inc. $MLR

Key Points

• Azarias Capital Management cut its Miller Industries stake by 78% in the third quarter, selling 85,754 shares and retaining 24,172 shares valued at approximately $1.27 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 79.24%, while several other funds—including Quantinno Capital Management and Empowered Funds—expanded their positions.
• Miller Industries exceeded quarterly expectations with $0.63 in EPS versus a $0.36 consensus and revenue of $239.99 million. Analysts maintain an overall “Hold” rating with an average price target of $54, compared with a recent share price of $51.99.

Azarias Capital Management L.P. lowered its holdings in shares of Miller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLR - Free Report) by 78.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,172 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 85,754 shares during the period. Miller Industries comprises about 1.2% of Azarias Capital Management L.P.'s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Azarias Capital Management L.P. owned about 0.21% of Miller Industries worth $1,272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in Miller Industries in the first quarter valued at about $279,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Miller Industries in the second quarter worth about $351,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor bought a new position in shares of Miller Industries in the second quarter worth about $1,187,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Miller Industries by 47.7% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 38,616 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $1,759,000 after acquiring an additional 12,463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Miller Industries by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 42,073 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $1,916,000 after purchasing an additional 3,703 shares in the last quarter. 79.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MLR has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Miller Industries from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Miller Industries in a research note on Monday, September 21st. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Miller Industries from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Miller Industries from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $54.00.

Miller Industries Stock Performance

Shares of Miller Industries stock traded down $1.25 on Wednesday, hitting $51.99. The stock had a trading volume of 77,830 shares, compared to its average volume of 80,728. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $54.85 and a 200 day moving average of $50.68. Miller Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.72 and a twelve month high of $59.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $590.14 million, a P/E ratio of 41.93 and a beta of 1.12.

Miller Industries (NYSE:MLR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The auto parts company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.27. Miller Industries had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 3.41%. The business had revenue of $239.99 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $210.80 million. Equities analysts expect that Miller Industries, Inc. will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Miller Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Miller Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.74%.

Miller Industries Profile

Miller Industries, Inc designs, manufactures and sells towing and recovery equipment for commercial, municipal, transportation and emergency-service customers. Its product portfolio includes light-, medium- and heavy-duty wreckers; car carriers and transporters; rotator recovery units; and specialized equipment used to recover, move and transport disabled or damaged vehicles.

The company markets products under several established brands, including Century, Vulcan, Holmes, Challenger and Champion.

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