Acushnet (NYSE:GOLF) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Acushnet (NYSE:GOLF) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $98.37 and last traded at $98.2010, with a volume of 339748 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $96.94.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GOLF. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Acushnet in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Acushnet from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Acushnet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Acushnet from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $74.00 to $96.00 in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Acushnet in a research report on Friday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.33.

Acushnet Trading Up 1.3%

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $86.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.42. The company has a market cap of $5.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.83 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Acushnet (NYSE:GOLF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $657.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $632.76 million. Acushnet had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 27.50%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Acushnet will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Acushnet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Acushnet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.68%.

Insider Transactions at Acushnet

In other Acushnet news, CEO David Eugene Maher sold 26,939 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.33, for a total value of $2,137,070.87. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 852,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,596,458.36. This trade represents a 3.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven Francis Pelisek sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.66, for a total value of $1,693,200.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 76,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,434,667.96. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 71,460 shares of company stock valued at $5,786,311 over the last ninety days. 53.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Acushnet

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GOLF. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in Acushnet by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 952,453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,358,000 after purchasing an additional 4,243 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Acushnet by 238.0% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 704,151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,269,000 after buying an additional 495,794 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Acushnet by 0.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 662,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,227,000 after acquiring an additional 5,009 shares in the last quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Acushnet by 92.6% during the third quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 457,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,908,000 after acquiring an additional 219,895 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Acushnet by 31.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 457,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,312,000 after acquiring an additional 110,245 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.12% of the company’s stock.

About Acushnet

Acushnet Holdings Corp., traded on the NYSE under the symbol GOLF, is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of golf equipment, footwear, apparel and accessories. The company’s portfolio encompasses a range of golf lifestyle products, with a focus on innovation, performance and quality for players of all skill levels.

At the core of Acushnet’s product lineup is the Titleist brand, globally recognized for its Tour-level golf balls and precision-engineered clubs. FootJoy offers golf shoes, gloves and apparel that blend comfort, style and technical performance, while Scotty Cameron putters and Vokey design wedges cater to players seeking exacting standards in feel and accuracy.