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

Brunswick Corporation (NYSE:BC) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the fifteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have assigned a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $84.00.

BC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Griffin Securities set a $76.00 price objective on shares of Brunswick in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $115.00 price objective on Brunswick and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $82.00 price objective on Brunswick in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird set a $85.00 target price on Brunswick in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Texas Capital downgraded Brunswick from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brunswick

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in Brunswick by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 31,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,327,000 after acquiring an additional 3,763 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Brunswick in the fourth quarter valued at about $206,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Brunswick by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 8,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $632,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Brunswick by 180.2% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 2,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Brunswick by 123.3% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,235,000 after buying an additional 9,187 shares in the last quarter. 99.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brunswick Stock Up 1.8%

Brunswick stock opened at $89.19 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.81. 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 company has a market cap of $5.78 billion, a PE ratio of -42.07 and a beta of 1.39. Brunswick has a fifty-two week low of $41.00 and a fifty-two week high of $90.25.

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

Brunswick Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from Brunswick’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 23rd. Brunswick’s payout ratio is currently -81.13%.

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.