Brunswick (NYSE:BC) Coverage Initiated at Benchmark

Benchmark started coverage on shares of Brunswick (NYSE:BC) in a research note released on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Brunswick from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $56.00 price objective (down previously from $90.00) on shares of Brunswick in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Roth Mkm cut their target price on Brunswick from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Brunswick from $95.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Brunswick from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Brunswick has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.00.

Brunswick Stock Performance

NYSE:BC opened at $46.10 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $52.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.90. Brunswick has a 1-year low of $41.00 and a 1-year high of $87.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.26 and a beta of 1.42.

Brunswick (NYSE:BC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.31. Brunswick had a return on equity of 15.41% and a net margin of 2.48%. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.35 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Brunswick will post 4.19 EPS for the current year.

Brunswick Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $0.43 dividend. This is a boost from Brunswick’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. Brunswick’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 142.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brunswick

In other news, Director Nancy E. Cooper sold 433 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $28,426.45. Following the sale, the director now 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Randall S. Altman sold 3,417 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.21, for a total value of $215,988.57. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 26,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,686,632.43. The trade was a 11.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FIL Ltd increased its position in Brunswick by 323.9% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,114,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,074,000 after acquiring an additional 851,449 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Brunswick by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,965,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $191,806,000 after purchasing an additional 488,412 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Brunswick during the fourth quarter worth $30,097,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Brunswick in the 4th quarter valued at $29,646,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Brunswick by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,757,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $113,655,000 after buying an additional 269,413 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.34% of the company’s stock.

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.