Vishay Precision Group Inc. Stock Upgraded (VPG)

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Vishay Precision Group (NYSE:VPG) has been upgraded by TheStreet Ratings from hold to buy. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, good cash flow from operations and expanding profit margins. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had lackluster performance in the stock itself.

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Highlights from the ratings report include:

• VPG's debt-to-equity ratio is very low at 0.06 and is currently below that of the industry average, implying that there has been very successful management of debt levels. Along with this, the company maintains a quick ratio of 3.25, which clearly demonstrates the ability to cover short-term cash needs.
• Net operating cash flow has significantly increased by 274.26% to $4.11 million when compared to the same quarter last year. In addition, VISHAY PRECISION GROUP INC has also vastly surpassed the industry average cash flow growth rate of -0.50%.
• VISHAY PRECISION GROUP INC's earnings per share declined by 50.0% in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. This company has reported somewhat volatile earnings recently. But, we feel it is poised for EPS growth in the coming year. During the past fiscal year, VISHAY PRECISION GROUP INC increased its bottom line by earning $0.79 versus $0.72 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($0.85 versus $0.79).
• Regardless of the drop in revenue, the company managed to outperform against the industry average of 9.6%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly dropped by 6.2%. Weakness in the company's revenue seems to have hurt the bottom line, decreasing earnings per share.
• 39.10% is the gross profit margin for VISHAY PRECISION GROUP INC which we consider to be strong. Regardless of VPG's high profit margin, it has managed to decrease from the same period last year. Despite the mixed results of the gross profit margin, the net profit margin of 2.90% trails the industry average.

Vishay Precision Group, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets components based on resistive foil technology, sensors, and sensor-based systems in the United States, Europe, and Asia. The company has a P/E ratio of 21.8, above the average electronics industry P/E ratio of 21.5 and above the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Vishay Precision Group has a market cap of $177.9 million and is part of the technology sector and electronics industry. Shares are down 9.7% year to date as of the close of trading on Monday.

You can view the full Vishay Precision Group Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.

-- Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff

TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

For more information on Vishay Precision Group Inc. click any of the following:

• Vishay Precision Group Inc. Stock Price

• Vishay Precision Group Inc. Analyst Ratings

• Vishay Precision Group Inc. Key Stats & Profile

• Vishay Precision Group Inc. Earnings

• Vishay Precision Group Inc. Ratio Comparison

• Vishay Precision Group Inc. Growth Rates

• Vishay Precision Group Inc. Balance Sheet

• Vishay Precision Group Inc. Cash Flow

• Vishay Precision Group Inc. Income Statement