85,754 Miller Industries, Inc. $MLR Shares Sold by Azarias Capital Management L.P.

Azarias Capital Management L.P. lessened its stake in Miller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLR) by 78.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund 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 position. Azarias Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Miller Industries were worth $1,272,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MLR. Systematic Financial Management LP increased its stake in shares of Miller Industries by 1.3% in the first quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 446,339 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $20,331,000 after buying an additional 5,743 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Miller Industries in the first quarter worth approximately $5,466,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Miller Industries in the second quarter worth approximately $5,985,000. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Miller Industries by 36.1% in the first quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. now owns 110,477 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $5,032,000 after acquiring an additional 29,291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Investment Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Miller Industries by 0.9% in the first quarter. Diversified Investment Strategies LLC now owns 106,920 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $4,870,000 after acquiring an additional 950 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on MLR shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Miller Industries in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Miller Industries from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Miller Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, DA Davidson upped 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.00.

Miller Industries Stock Performance

Shares of MLR stock traded down $1.25 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $51.99. 77,830 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 80,728. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.68. The firm has a market cap of $590.14 million, a P/E ratio of 41.93 and a beta of 1.12. Miller Industries, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.72 and a fifty-two week high of $59.70.

Miller Industries (NYSE:MLR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The auto parts company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.27. Miller Industries had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 3.41%. The company had revenue of $239.99 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $210.80 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Miller Industries, Inc. will post 1.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Miller Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th were paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 8th. Miller Industries’s payout ratio is 67.74%.

About Miller Industries

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.