Holley (NYSE:HLLY) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Freedom Capital

Holley (NYSE:HLLY) was downgraded by research analysts at Freedom Capital from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Benchmark dropped their target price on Holley from $4.50 to $4.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Holley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $7.00 price target on shares of Holley in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Holley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Holley from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4.90.

Holley Stock Down 5.8%

Shares of NYSE HLLY opened at $2.98 on Thursday. Holley has a 1 year low of $2.33 and a 1 year high of $4.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 3.06 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The company has a market capitalization of $362.56 million, a P/E ratio of 37.31 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $2.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.08.

Holley (NYSE:HLLY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.08. Holley had a net margin of 1.68% and a return on equity of 8.41%. The firm had revenue of $172.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $172.63 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Holley will post 0.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Holley announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $25.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Holley

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Holley by 8.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 283,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $727,000 after buying an additional 21,121 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Holley by 9.0% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,320,321 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,641,000 after acquiring an additional 108,964 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Holley by 195.1% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 77,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $155,000 after purchasing an additional 51,247 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Holley by 51.1% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 103,287 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,000 after buying an additional 34,914 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Holley by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 118,727 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 10,767 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.70% of the company’s stock.

About Holley

Holley Inc is a designer, manufacturer and marketer of high‐performance automotive products for the enthusiast market. Through its portfolio of well‐known brands, the company develops fuel delivery systems, intake manifolds, ignition components, nitrous oxide systems, digital controls and other engine‐dress accessories tailored to both street and competition applications. Holley’s products are sold through a network of domestic and international distributors, retailers and directly to professional race teams and hobbyists.

The company’s product offerings span mechanical and electronic fuel injection, carburetion, engine management, add‐on power systems and calibration tools.