AlphaQuest LLC Takes Position in Polaris Inc. (NYSE:PII)

AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in Polaris Inc. (NYSE:PII) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $190,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Polaris by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,262,990 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,371,000 after purchasing an additional 69,844 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Polaris by 45.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 776,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,740,000 after purchasing an additional 241,926 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Polaris by 44.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 555,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,232,000 after purchasing an additional 171,366 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Polaris in the 4th quarter worth $21,776,000. Finally, Eubel Brady & Suttman Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Polaris by 34.8% in the 4th quarter. Eubel Brady & Suttman Asset Management Inc. now owns 265,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,299,000 after purchasing an additional 68,537 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PII. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Polaris from $67.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $60.00 target price (down from $81.00) on shares of Polaris in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Polaris from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Polaris from $84.00 to $72.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 30th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Polaris from $69.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.17.

Polaris Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of PII stock opened at $42.42 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 1.15. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $48.63 and its 200-day moving average is $63.94. The stock has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a PEG ratio of 13.95 and a beta of 1.54. Polaris Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.79 and a 52-week high of $100.91.

Polaris (NYSE:PII) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.03. Polaris had a net margin of 1.54% and a return on equity of 13.78%. Sell-side analysts predict that Polaris Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

Polaris Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.67 dividend. This is a boost from Polaris’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.32%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Polaris’s dividend payout ratio is currently 136.73%.

About Polaris

Polaris Inc designs, engineers, manufactures, and markets powersports vehicles in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Off-Road, On-Road, and Marine. The company offers off-road vehicles (ORVs), including all-terrain vehicles and side-by-side vehicles; military and commercial ORVs; snowmobiles; motorcycles; and moto-roadsters, quadricycles, and boats.