Acuitas Investments LLC Buys 26,257 Shares of MarineMax, Inc. $HZO

Acuitas Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of MarineMax, Inc. (NYSE:HZO) by 24.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 131,538 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,257 shares during the period. MarineMax makes up 2.1% of Acuitas Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Acuitas Investments LLC owned about 0.61% of MarineMax worth $3,332,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of HZO. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of MarineMax by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 140,829 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,027,000 after purchasing an additional 9,050 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of MarineMax by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 12,921 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new stake in MarineMax during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $168,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of MarineMax by 69.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 348,664 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $7,496,000 after purchasing an additional 142,775 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MarineMax by 52.7% during the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,351 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. 92.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on HZO. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of MarineMax in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MarineMax in a report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MarineMax in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. National Bank Financial set a $35.00 target price on shares of MarineMax in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded MarineMax from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.80.

MarineMax Trading Up 2.6%

NYSE HZO opened at $26.10 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.15. MarineMax, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.85 and a 12-month high of $32.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market cap of $574.87 million, a P/E ratio of -9.74 and a beta of 1.66.

MarineMax (NYSE:HZO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The specialty retailer reported ($0.21) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by ($0.09). MarineMax had a negative net margin of 2.46% and a positive return on equity of 1.13%. The firm had revenue of $505.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $481.67 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.17 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that MarineMax, Inc. will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current year.

MarineMax announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, March 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to reacquire up to 15.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

MarineMax Company Profile

MarineMax, Inc is a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker HZO and is one of the largest recreational boat and yacht retailers in the United States. The company markets new and used motor yachts, sailing yachts, sport boats and personal watercraft, acting as an authorized dealer for leading manufacturers. In addition to boat sales, MarineMax provides service and maintenance, parts and accessory sales, training and education, and marina operations.

Operating through a network of sales centers, service facilities and marinas, MarineMax serves coastal and inland markets across the continental U.S.