Teacher Retirement System of Texas Reduces Stock Holdings in Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc. (NYSE:SPB)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas reduced its holdings in Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc. (NYSE:SPB) by 76.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,953 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,803 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Spectrum Brands were worth $354,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Cannon Global Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Spectrum Brands in the 1st quarter valued at $286,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Spectrum Brands in the 1st quarter valued at $118,000. Wealthquest Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Spectrum Brands in the 1st quarter valued at $321,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Spectrum Brands by 33.3% in the 1st quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 200,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,310,000 after acquiring an additional 50,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Spectrum Brands by 82.2% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $425,000 after acquiring an additional 2,679 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on SPB shares. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Spectrum Brands from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered their price target on shares of Spectrum Brands from $106.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Spectrum Brands from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $77.00 price target on shares of Spectrum Brands and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.17.

Spectrum Brands Stock Performance

NYSE:SPB opened at $55.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.34. The company has a fifty day moving average of $56.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a PE ratio of 26.78 and a beta of 0.90. Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $50.73 and a fifty-two week high of $96.62.

Spectrum Brands (NYSE:SPB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.67). The company had revenue of $675.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $701.00 million. Spectrum Brands had a return on equity of 5.20% and a net margin of 2.02%. The business’s revenue was down 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc. will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spectrum Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. Spectrum Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 89.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO David M. Maura sold 66,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.53, for a total value of $4,324,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 723,607 shares in the company, valued at $47,417,966.71. This represents a 8.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Spectrum Brands Company Profile

Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc operates as a branded consumer products and home essentials company in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific regions. It operates through three segments: Home and Personal Care; Global Pet Care; and Home and Garden. The Home and Personal Care segment provides home appliances under the Black & Decker, Russell Hobbs, George Foreman, PowerXL, Emeril Legasse, Copper Chef, Toastmaster, Juiceman, Farberware, and Breadman brands; and personal care products under the Remington brand.