Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in Vista Outdoor Inc. (NYSE:VSTO)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Vista Outdoor Inc. (NYSE:VSTO) by 2.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 295,083 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,975 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.51% of Vista Outdoor worth $11,561,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Vista Outdoor by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 23,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $918,000 after acquiring an additional 1,265 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Vista Outdoor by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,355,917 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,135,000 after purchasing an additional 17,621 shares during the last quarter. Tenzing Global Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vista Outdoor by 7.7% during the third quarter. Tenzing Global Management LLC now owns 350,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,713,000 after purchasing an additional 25,000 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Vista Outdoor by 1.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,180,898 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,448,000 after purchasing an additional 35,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Vista Outdoor by 23.5% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 11,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $442,000 after buying an additional 2,140 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on VSTO. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Vista Outdoor in a research report on Wednesday, December 25th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Roth Capital lowered shares of Vista Outdoor from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Roth Mkm downgraded Vista Outdoor from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $42.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Aegis cut Vista Outdoor from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered Vista Outdoor from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.20.

Vista Outdoor Stock Performance

Shares of VSTO opened at $44.63 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 2.90 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a PE ratio of -247.94 and a beta of 0.79. Vista Outdoor Inc. has a one year low of $26.05 and a one year high of $44.72.

Vista Outdoor (NYSE:VSTO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $665.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $666.72 million. Vista Outdoor had a positive return on equity of 19.53% and a negative net margin of 0.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.96 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Vista Outdoor Inc. will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Vista Outdoor

Vista Outdoor Inc designs, manufactures, and markets outdoor recreation and shooting sports products. in the United States and internationally. The Kinetic Group segment designs, develops, distributes, and manufactures ammunition, primers, and components for hunters, recreational shooters, federal and local law enforcement agencies, and the military.