XPEL (NASDAQ:XPEL) Rating Increased to Buy at Craig Hallum

Craig Hallum upgraded shares of XPEL (NASDAQ:XPEL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports.

Separately, B. Riley reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $37.00 target price (down previously from $74.00) on shares of XPEL in a research note on Friday, May 3rd.

XPEL Price Performance

Shares of XPEL opened at $44.47 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $37.00 and a 200-day moving average of $44.82. XPEL has a 1 year low of $30.75 and a 1 year high of $86.67. The company has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.71 and a beta of 1.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 4.81 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

XPEL (NASDAQ:XPEL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.10. XPEL had a return on equity of 29.11% and a net margin of 11.99%. The business had revenue of $109.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $105.67 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.57 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that XPEL will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On XPEL

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in XPEL. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its stake in XPEL by 25.6% in the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,614,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,657,000 after acquiring an additional 737,094 shares during the period. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in XPEL in the second quarter valued at approximately $12,021,000. Capital World Investors grew its stake in XPEL by 34.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 903,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,655,000 after acquiring an additional 233,542 shares during the period. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in XPEL by 46.3% in the second quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 512,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,207,000 after acquiring an additional 162,000 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in XPEL in the first quarter valued at approximately $7,000,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

About XPEL

XPEL, Inc sells, distributes, and installs protective films and coatings worldwide. The company offers automotive surface and paint protection film, headlight protection, and automotive and architectural window films, as well as proprietary DAP software. It also provides pre-cut film products, merchandise and apparel, ceramic coatings, and tools and accessories.