Brunswick (NYSE:BC) Sets New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) hit a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $54.97 and last traded at $55.48, with a volume of 267264 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.53.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Brunswick from $95.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Robert W. Baird set a $90.00 price objective on Brunswick in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Roth Mkm lowered their price objective on Brunswick from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Brunswick from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, B. Riley upgraded Brunswick to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.62.

Brunswick Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.51. The stock has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.35 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.65.

Brunswick (NYSE:BC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.06. Brunswick had a return on equity of 15.41% and a net margin of 2.48%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.45 EPS. Analysts expect that Brunswick Co. will post 4.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brunswick Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a positive change from Brunswick’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Brunswick’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Randall S. Altman sold 3,417 shares of Brunswick stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.21, for a total value of $215,988.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 26,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,686,632.43. This trade represents a 11.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Nancy E. Cooper sold 433 shares of Brunswick stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $28,426.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,664,949.65. This trade represents a 1.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.81% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Brunswick

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BC. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in Brunswick during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Financial Perspectives Inc acquired a new position in Brunswick during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Brunswick during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Brunswick by 1,073.7% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 669 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Brunswick by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $170,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. 99.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Brunswick

Brunswick Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets recreation products in the United States, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Propulsion, Engine P&A, Navico Group, and Boat. The Propulsion segment provides outboard, sterndrive, inboard engines, propulsion-related controls, rigging, and propellers for boat builders through marine retail dealers under the Mercury, Mercury MerCruiser, Mariner, Mercury Racing, Mercury Diesel, Avator, and Fliteboard brands.