Empowered Funds LLC Acquires 88,483 Shares of Newell Brands Inc. (NASDAQ:NWL)

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Newell Brands Inc. (NASDAQ:NWL) by 751.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 100,251 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 88,483 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Newell Brands were worth $999,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Newell Brands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $367,000. Choreo LLC boosted its stake in Newell Brands by 68.1% during the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 22,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 8,969 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP increased its stake in Newell Brands by 45.0% in the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 1,236,168 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,312,000 after acquiring an additional 383,662 shares during the last quarter. Optas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Newell Brands by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Optas LLC now owns 12,397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 1,306 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avantra Family Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Newell Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $149,000. 92.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on NWL. Citigroup reduced their target price on Newell Brands from $10.50 to $7.75 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Newell Brands from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Newell Brands from $9.50 to $9.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Newell Brands from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on shares of Newell Brands from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Tracy L. Platt sold 23,343 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.31, for a total value of $240,666.33. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Newell Brands Price Performance

NWL stock opened at $7.05 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.75, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $9.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. Newell Brands Inc. has a 12-month low of $5.39 and a 12-month high of $11.78.

Newell Brands (NASDAQ:NWL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.02. Newell Brands had a positive return on equity of 10.22% and a negative net margin of 3.22%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.22 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Newell Brands Inc. will post 0.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Newell Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Newell Brands’s payout ratio is currently -46.67%.

Newell Brands Company Profile

Newell Brands Inc engages in the design, manufacture, sourcing, and distribution of consumer and commercial products worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Home and Commercial Solutions, Learning and Development, and Outdoor and Recreation. The Commercial Solutions segment provides commercial cleaning and maintenance solution products under the Rubbermaid, Rubbermaid Commercial Products, Mapa, and Spontex brands; closet and garage organization products; hygiene systems and material handling solutions; household products, such as kitchen appliances under the Crockpot, Mr.