Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $71.00.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Brunswick from $95.00 to $86.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Brunswick from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Baird R W downgraded shares of Brunswick from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Brunswick from $64.00 to $45.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $43.00 price objective (down from $64.00) on shares of Brunswick in a research note on Monday.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Nancy E. Cooper sold 433 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $28,426.45. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,361 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,664,949.65. This represents a 1.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Randall S. Altman sold 3,417 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.21, for a total value of $215,988.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 26,683 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,686,632.43. The trade was a 11.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Brunswick by 4,972.7% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 558 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the period. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Brunswick in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Brunswick by 695.7% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 732 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 640 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Brunswick by 171.6% in the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 755 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Perspectives Inc purchased a new stake in Brunswick during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. 99.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brunswick Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BC traded down $0.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $46.10. 869,256 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 770,775. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.26 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $52.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 0.63. Brunswick has a 52 week low of $41.00 and a 52 week high of $87.65.

Brunswick (NYSE:BC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.14 billion. Brunswick had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 15.41%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.35 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Brunswick will post 4.19 EPS for the current year.

Brunswick Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.43 dividend. This is a positive change from Brunswick's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. Brunswick's dividend payout ratio is currently 142.15%.

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.