Smith & Wesson Brands (NASDAQ:SWBI) Sees Strong Trading Volume Following Analyst Upgrade

Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWBI) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday after Lake Street Capital raised their price target on the stock from $16.00 to $18.00. Lake Street Capital currently has a buy rating on the stock. Approximately 310,380 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 18% from the previous session’s volume of 377,838 shares.The stock last traded at $14.71 and had previously closed at $14.29.

Separately, Craig Hallum upgraded Smith & Wesson Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $14.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Friday, March 8th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Smith & Wesson Brands by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,616,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,791,000 after buying an additional 47,009 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in shares of Smith & Wesson Brands by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,067,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,035,000 after purchasing an additional 191,813 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Smith & Wesson Brands by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 990,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,437,000 after acquiring an additional 19,018 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Smith & Wesson Brands by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 565,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,306,000 after acquiring an additional 14,563 shares during the period. Finally, Fund 1 Investments LLC purchased a new position in Smith & Wesson Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,790,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.33% of the company’s stock.

Smith & Wesson Brands Stock Up 2.5 %

The business has a fifty day moving average of $16.38 and a 200 day moving average of $15.19. The company has a current ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $675.37 million, a PE ratio of 17.03 and a beta of 1.11.

Smith & Wesson Brands (NASDAQ:SWBI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $159.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $156.80 million. Smith & Wesson Brands had a return on equity of 11.18% and a net margin of 7.39%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.32 EPS.

Smith & Wesson Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 11th. This is a positive change from Smith & Wesson Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Smith & Wesson Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.81%.

About Smith & Wesson Brands

Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells firearms worldwide. The company offers handguns, including revolvers and pistols; long guns, such as modern sporting rifles, bolt action rifles; handcuffs; suppressors; and other firearm-related products under the Smith & Wesson, M&P, and Gemtech brands.