PDT Partners LLC Takes Position in Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. $SWBI

PDT Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWBI) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 131,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,981,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SWBI. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Smith & Wesson Brands by 25.3% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 41,063 shares of the company’s stock valued at $383,000 after purchasing an additional 8,290 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Smith & Wesson Brands by 41.4% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 712,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,642,000 after purchasing an additional 208,739 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Smith & Wesson Brands by 136.2% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 29,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 16,943 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Smith & Wesson Brands by 10.3% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 47,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $413,000 after buying an additional 4,431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Smith & Wesson Brands in the 2nd quarter worth about $190,000. 59.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Smith & Wesson Brands Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of Smith & Wesson Brands stock opened at $13.37 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $599.51 million, a PE ratio of 33.43 and a beta of 0.88. Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $8.01 and a 1-year high of $17.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 3.20 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Smith & Wesson Brands (NASDAQ:SWBI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 17th. The company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.13. Smith & Wesson Brands had a return on equity of 5.01% and a net margin of 3.53%.The firm had revenue of $178.39 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $155.27 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.20 EPS. Smith & Wesson Brands’s revenue was up 26.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Smith & Wesson Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st were given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Smith & Wesson Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 130.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Smith & Wesson Brands from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Lake Street Capital raised their price target on shares of Smith & Wesson Brands from $14.00 to $16.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Smith & Wesson Brands to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.50.

Smith & Wesson Brands Company Profile

Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc is a leading American manufacturer of firearms and related products, designing, producing and marketing a broad array of handguns, long guns and shooting accessories. The company’s portfolio includes revolvers, semi-automatic pistols and rifles under well-known brands such as M&P® (Military & Police) and Performance Center®, which are used by military, law enforcement, commercial and private customers. In addition to complete firearms, Smith & Wesson offers suppressors, optics mounts, holsters and other shooting accessories to support a full spectrum of professional and recreational shooting activities.

Founded in 1852 by Horace Smith and Daniel B.