Renaissance Technologies LLC Boosts Stock Position in Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPB)

Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPB) by 84.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 148,984 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 68,000 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.55% of Spectrum Brands worth $12,588,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Spectrum Brands by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 450,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,089,000 after acquiring an additional 7,198 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Spectrum Brands in the fourth quarter worth $387,000. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Spectrum Brands in the fourth quarter valued at $553,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Spectrum Brands by 478.4% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,141,000 after acquiring an additional 11,166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Spectrum Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $16,606,000.

Spectrum Brands Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of SPB opened at $60.41 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.03. Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $57.93 and a 1 year high of $96.74. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.40 and a quick ratio of 1.53.

Spectrum Brands (NYSE:SPB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.11. Spectrum Brands had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 6.44%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spectrum Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Spectrum Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on SPB shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Spectrum Brands from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Spectrum Brands from $114.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Spectrum Brands from $114.00 to $109.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Spectrum Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $94.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Spectrum Brands has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.57.

Spectrum Brands Profile

Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc operates as a branded consumer products and home essentials company in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific regions. It operates through three segments: Home and Personal Care; Global Pet Care; and Home and Garden. The Home and Personal Care segment provides home appliances under the Black & Decker, Russell Hobbs, George Foreman, PowerXL, Emeril Legasse, Copper Chef, Toastmaster, Juiceman, Farberware, and Breadman brands; and personal care products under the Remington brand.