Brunswick (NYSE:BC) Upgraded to Hold at B. Riley

B. Riley upgraded shares of Brunswick (NYSE:BC) to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

BC has been the subject of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Brunswick from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Roth Mkm cut their target price on shares of Brunswick from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Brunswick from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Brunswick from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Benchmark decreased their target price on shares of Brunswick from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Six 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.85.

Brunswick Price Performance

NYSE:BC opened at $64.95 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.29 billion, a PE ratio of 34.18 and a beta of 1.54. Brunswick has a 12 month low of $62.64 and a 12 month high of $96.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $67.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.76.

Brunswick (NYSE:BC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.06. Brunswick had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 15.41%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.45 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Brunswick will post 4.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brunswick Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This is a boost from Brunswick’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. Brunswick’s payout ratio is 88.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Nancy E. Cooper sold 433 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,664,949.65. The trade was a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brunswick

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BC. FIL Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Brunswick by 323.9% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,114,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,074,000 after purchasing an additional 851,449 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Brunswick during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,097,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Brunswick during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,646,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Brunswick by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,090,078 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,010,000 after purchasing an additional 452,116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Brunswick by 1,120.5% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 354,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,725,000 after purchasing an additional 325,574 shares during the last quarter. 99.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Brunswick Company Profile

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.