Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Acushnet (NYSE:GOLF) Stock

Acushnet (NYSE:GOLF - Free Report) had its price objective upped by Morgan Stanley from $63.00 to $80.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

GOLF has been the subject of several other research reports. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Acushnet from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Compass Point lowered shares of Acushnet from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $71.00 in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $80.00 price objective (up previously from $75.00) on shares of Acushnet in a report on Friday, June 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Acushnet presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $72.50.

Acushnet Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GOLF traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $80.87. The company had a trading volume of 460,632 shares, compared to its average volume of 400,014. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $72.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.51. Acushnet has a 12 month low of $55.31 and a 12 month high of $81.81. The firm has a market cap of $4.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.46 and a beta of 0.84.

Acushnet (NYSE:GOLF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.30. Acushnet had a net margin of 9.21% and a return on equity of 26.81%. The firm had revenue of $703.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $697.82 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.35 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Acushnet will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Acushnet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Acushnet's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.11%.

Insider Transactions at Acushnet

In other Acushnet news, Director Holdings Corp. Misto sold 953,406 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.56, for a total value of $62,505,297.36. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 29,523,653 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,935,570,690.68. This trade represents a 3.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 53.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Acushnet

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Acushnet by 6.2% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 3,499 shares of the company's stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period. Heritage Family Offices LLP raised its holdings in shares of Acushnet by 7.4% during the first quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 3,090 shares of the company's stock worth $212,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Acushnet by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 16,100 shares of the company's stock worth $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings in shares of Acushnet by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 13,404 shares of the company's stock worth $953,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Finally, Berry Wealth Group LP raised its holdings in shares of Acushnet by 8.0% during the first quarter. Berry Wealth Group LP now owns 3,075 shares of the company's stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. 53.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Acushnet

Acushnet Holdings Corp. designs, develops, manufactures, and distributes golf products in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Japan, Korea, and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Titleist Golf Balls, Titleist Golf Clubs, Titleist Golf Gear, and FootJoy Golf Wear.