Brunswick (NYSE:BC) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Brunswick Corporation (NYSE:BC) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $89.87 and last traded at $89.4850, with a volume of 254827 shares. The stock had previously closed at $87.64.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Benchmark raised their price objective on Brunswick from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup upped their target price on Brunswick from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Griffin Securities set a $76.00 price target on Brunswick in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Brunswick in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Loop Capital initiated coverage on shares of Brunswick in a report on Monday, December 22nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $74.00 target price for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.00.

Brunswick Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $5.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -42.00 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.13.

Brunswick (NYSE:BC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.58. The business had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. Brunswick had a negative net margin of 2.56% and a positive return on equity of 12.22%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.24 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Brunswick Corporation will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brunswick Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is a positive change from Brunswick’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 23rd. Brunswick’s payout ratio is -81.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brunswick

In related news, CEO David M. Foulkes sold 38,266 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.56, for a total transaction of $3,312,304.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 271,169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,472,388.64. This represents a 12.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher F. Dekker sold 4,981 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.38, for a total value of $435,239.78. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 39,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,472,481.20. The trade was a 11.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brunswick

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Brunswick by 38.4% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 440 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp lifted its position in shares of Brunswick by 31.7% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 548 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Brunswick by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Brunswick by 72.3% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Brunswick by 50.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 494 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. 99.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brunswick Company Profile

Founded in 1845 by John Moses Brunswick, Brunswick Corporation is a global leader in recreation products. Headquartered in Mettawa, Illinois, the company has evolved from its origins as a billiard table manufacturer into a diversified supplier of leisure equipment, serving both consumer and commercial markets around the world.

Brunswick operates through two primary segments: Marine and Bowling & Billiards. In its Marine segment, the company designs, manufactures and distributes recreational boats, outboard engines and aftermarket parts under recognized brands such as Sea Ray, Bayliner and Mercury Marine.