Brunswick Corporation (NYSE:BC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Brunswick Corporation (NYSE:BC) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $84.00.

BC has been the subject of several research reports. Griffin Securities set a $76.00 price objective on shares of Brunswick in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. DA Davidson increased their price target on Brunswick from $68.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Wolfe Research set a $90.00 price objective on Brunswick in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Brunswick in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Benchmark lifted their price target on Brunswick from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th.

Brunswick Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of BC opened at $89.19 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $82.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.81. Brunswick has a one year low of $41.00 and a one year high of $90.25. 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 has a market capitalization of $5.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -42.07 and a beta of 1.39.

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

Brunswick Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 23rd. This is a positive change from Brunswick’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Brunswick’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -81.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Brunswick by 38.4% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp increased its holdings in Brunswick by 31.7% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 548 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Brunswick by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Brunswick by 72.3% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 379 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of Brunswick by 50.6% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 494 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.34% of the company’s stock.

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.