Traders Buy High Volume of Newell Brands Call Options (NASDAQ:NWL)

Newell Brands Inc. (NASDAQ:NWL) was the target of some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors purchased 8,613 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 454% compared to the typical volume of 1,555 call options.

Newell Brands Trading Up 12.2 %

NWL opened at $7.79 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.95. Newell Brands has a 52 week low of $6.49 and a 52 week high of $12.31. The business’s 50 day moving average is $7.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47.

Newell Brands (NASDAQ:NWL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported ($0.07) EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.07). The company had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. Newell Brands had a positive return on equity of 10.24% and a negative net margin of 4.77%. The firm’s revenue was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.06) earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Newell Brands will post 0.56 EPS for the current year.

Newell Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.59%. Newell Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -29.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Newell Brands from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Newell Brands from $9.00 to $7.50 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Citigroup cut their target price on Newell Brands from $9.00 to $7.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 12th. UBS Group lowered Newell Brands from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $10.00 to $8.50 in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Newell Brands from $8.50 to $7.75 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Newell Brands presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.13.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Newell Brands by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 54,796,231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $494,810,000 after purchasing an additional 2,373,356 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Newell Brands by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,892,843 shares of the company’s stock valued at $389,670,000 after purchasing an additional 739,295 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Newell Brands by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 13,747,330 shares of the company’s stock valued at $119,327,000 after purchasing an additional 660,347 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Newell Brands by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,623,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,855,000 after purchasing an additional 434,762 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Primecap Management Co. CA grew its stake in shares of Newell Brands by 35.1% in the 4th quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 8,511,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,884,000 after purchasing an additional 2,209,672 shares during the last quarter. 92.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Newell Brands

Newell Brands Inc engages in the design, manufacture, sourcing, and distribution of consumer and commercial products worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Home and Commercial Solutions, Learning and Development, and Outdoor and Recreation. The Commercial Solutions segment provides commercial cleaning and maintenance solution products under the Rubbermaid, Rubbermaid Commercial Products, Mapa, and Spontex brands; closet and garage organization products; hygiene systems and material handling solutions; household products, such as kitchen appliances under the Crockpot, Mr.