Brunswick Corporation (NYSE:BC) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Brunswick Corporation (NYSE:BC) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 3,757,899 shares, a growth of 39.2% from the February 12th total of 2,699,678 shares. Approximately 5.8% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,048,227 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,048,227 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days. Approximately 5.8% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BC. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Brunswick in a report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $115.00 price objective on Brunswick and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $94.00 target price (up from $79.00) on shares of Brunswick in a report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $82.00 target price on Brunswick in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $85.00 price target on Brunswick in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO David M. Foulkes sold 38,266 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.56, for a total transaction of $3,312,304.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 271,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,472,388.64. This trade represents a 12.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Christopher F. Dekker sold 4,981 shares of Brunswick stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.38, for a total transaction of $435,239.78. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 39,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,472,481.20. This represents a 11.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brunswick

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Brunswick by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,572,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,252,000 after purchasing an additional 78,228 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Brunswick by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,848,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,469,000 after buying an additional 98,972 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Brunswick by 56.4% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,302,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,637,000 after buying an additional 830,451 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Brunswick by 30.6% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,921,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,651,000 after buying an additional 449,943 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. raised its holdings in Brunswick by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,866,872 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,597,000 after acquiring an additional 14,822 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.34% of the company’s stock.

Brunswick Price Performance

Shares of Brunswick stock opened at $68.90 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $4.47 billion, a P/E ratio of -32.50 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 1.44. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $83.15 and its 200 day moving average is $72.76. Brunswick has a one year low of $41.00 and a one year high of $90.25.

Brunswick (NYSE:BC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.58. The business had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. Brunswick had a positive return on equity of 12.22% and a negative net margin of 2.56%.Brunswick’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.24 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Brunswick will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Brunswick Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. This is a positive change from Brunswick’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Brunswick’s payout ratio is currently -83.02%.

About Brunswick

Founded in 1845 by John Moses Brunswick, Brunswick Corporation is a global leader in recreation products. Headquartered in Mettawa, Illinois, the company has evolved from its origins as a billiard table manufacturer into a diversified supplier of leisure equipment, serving both consumer and commercial markets around the world.

Brunswick operates through two primary segments: Marine and Bowling & Billiards. In its Marine segment, the company designs, manufactures and distributes recreational boats, outboard engines and aftermarket parts under recognized brands such as Sea Ray, Bayliner and Mercury Marine.