Brunswick (NYSE:BC) Now Covered by Benchmark

Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of Brunswick (NYSE:BC) in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Brunswick from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Brunswick from $64.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Brunswick from $95.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Brunswick from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Brunswick from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.00.

Brunswick Stock Down 0.8 %

BC stock opened at $46.47 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 24.46 and a beta of 1.42. Brunswick has a 1 year low of $41.00 and a 1 year high of $87.65. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Brunswick (NYSE:BC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.31. Brunswick had a return on equity of 15.41% and a net margin of 2.48%. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.35 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Brunswick will post 4.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brunswick Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $0.43 dividend. This is a boost from Brunswick’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Brunswick’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 142.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Nancy E. Cooper sold 433 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $28,426.45. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,664,949.65. The trade was a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Randall S. Altman sold 3,417 shares of Brunswick stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.21, for a total value of $215,988.57. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 26,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,686,632.43. The trade was a 11.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brunswick

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BC. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in Brunswick in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Brunswick by 695.7% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 640 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Brunswick by 171.6% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 755 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc acquired a new position in Brunswick during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in Brunswick during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.34% of the company’s stock.

About Brunswick

Brunswick Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets recreation products in the United States, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Propulsion, Engine P&A, Navico Group, and Boat. The Propulsion segment provides outboard, sterndrive, inboard engines, propulsion-related controls, rigging, and propellers for boat builders through marine retail dealers under the Mercury, Mercury MerCruiser, Mariner, Mercury Racing, Mercury Diesel, Avator, and Fliteboard brands.