Polaris (NYSE:PII) Shares Down 7.4% After Analyst Downgrade

Polaris Inc. (NYSE:PII) shares were down 7.4% during mid-day trading on Monday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $67.00 to $48.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Polaris traded as low as $43.93 and last traded at $44.19. Approximately 581,547 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 1,634,942 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.70.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Polaris from $65.00 to $54.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Roth Mkm reduced their price target on shares of Polaris from $76.00 to $57.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Polaris from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $60.00 target price (down from $81.00) on shares of Polaris in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded shares of Polaris from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Polaris presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.17.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of Polaris by 19.9% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Polaris by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 28,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,676,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Polaris by 187.4% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 388 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Polaris by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 7,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $656,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in Polaris by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 3,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,000 after buying an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Polaris Trading Down 8.7 %

The business’s 50-day moving average is $58.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.43 billion, a PE ratio of 22.23, a PEG ratio of 14.51 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27.

Polaris (NYSE:PII) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.03. Polaris had a net margin of 1.54% and a return on equity of 13.78%. On average, analysts predict that Polaris Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Polaris Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.15%. This is a boost from Polaris’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Polaris’s dividend payout ratio is 134.69%.

About Polaris

Polaris Inc designs, engineers, manufactures, and markets powersports vehicles in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Off-Road, On-Road, and Marine. The company offers off-road vehicles (ORVs), including all-terrain vehicles and side-by-side vehicles; military and commercial ORVs; snowmobiles; motorcycles; and moto-roadsters, quadricycles, and boats.