Spectrum Brands (NYSE:SPB) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Spectrum Brands (NYSE:SPB) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on SPB. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Spectrum Brands from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Monness Crespi & Hardt dropped their price target on shares of Spectrum Brands from $106.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on shares of Spectrum Brands from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, 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 research note on Friday, May 9th. 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.com, Spectrum Brands has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.80.

Spectrum Brands Stock Performance

Shares of SPB opened at $55.99 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $55.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $64.24. Spectrum Brands has a 52 week low of $50.73 and a 52 week high of $96.62. The company has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a PE ratio of 20.89 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.42.

Spectrum Brands (NYSE:SPB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by ($0.01). Spectrum Brands had a net margin of 2.56% and a return on equity of 5.27%. The company had revenue of $699.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $742.13 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Spectrum Brands will post 5.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Spectrum Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Spectrum Brands’s dividend payout ratio is 70.15%.

Insider Activity at Spectrum Brands

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

Institutional Trading of Spectrum Brands

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of SPB. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Spectrum Brands by 120.3% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 489 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Spectrum Brands by 44.8% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 328 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Spectrum Brands by 101.7% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 970 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 489 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Spectrum Brands by 13.9% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Spectrum Brands during the 1st quarter worth $118,000.

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.