Investors Buy High Volume of Call Options on Polaris (NYSE:PII)

Polaris Inc. (NYSE:PII) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors bought 3,565 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 38% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,592 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Polaris

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PII. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Polaris by 386.5% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 402 shares during the period. Twin Tree Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Polaris during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Polaris by 295.4% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 518 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Polaris by 114.1% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Polaris during the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Polaris Trading Up 2.3 %

NYSE PII opened at $36.34 on Friday. Polaris has a 12 month low of $30.92 and a 12 month high of $90.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $37.95 and a 200-day moving average of $51.13. The company has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a PE ratio of 18.54, a PEG ratio of 13.95 and a beta of 1.05.

Polaris (NYSE:PII) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.90) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.91) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. Polaris had a net margin of 1.54% and a return on equity of 13.78%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.23 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Polaris will post 1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Polaris Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.37%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Polaris’s payout ratio is presently 372.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Polaris from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Polaris from $54.00 to $34.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup cut shares of Polaris from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $49.00 to $33.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Baird R W lowered shares of Polaris from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Polaris from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.36.

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.