Brunswick Corporation (NYSE:BC) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Brunswick received an average analyst recommendation of Hold from 15 firms (1 sell, 7 hold, 6 buy, 1 strong buy) with a mean 1‑year price target of $84.57.
• In the latest quarter Brunswick reported EPS of $0.58 (in line with estimates) and revenue of $1.33B (up 15.5% YoY), but still posts a negative net margin (-2.56%) and a negative P/E.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.44 (annualized $1.76, yield 2.3%), while insiders including the CEO and a VP recently sold shares, reducing their positions.

Brunswick Corporation (NYSE:BC - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the fifteen research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $84.5714.

BC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $85.00 price objective on Brunswick in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $115.00 price objective on Brunswick and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Brunswick from $68.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Loop Capital initiated coverage on Brunswick in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. They issued a "hold" rating and a $74.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Benchmark boosted their price objective on Brunswick from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th.

Brunswick Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:BC opened at $78.01 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.79 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Brunswick has a 12-month low of $41.86 and a 12-month high of $90.25. The business's 50 day moving average is $78.25 and its 200 day moving average is $73.70.

Brunswick (NYSE:BC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.58. Brunswick had a positive return on equity of 12.22% and a negative net margin of 2.56%.The company had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.24 earnings per share. Brunswick's quarterly revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Brunswick will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brunswick Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were given a $0.44 dividend. This is an increase from Brunswick's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. Brunswick's payout ratio is presently -83.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brunswick

In other Brunswick news, VP Christopher F. Dekker sold 4,981 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.38, for a total value of $435,239.78. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 39,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,472,481.20. The trade was a 11.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO David M. Foulkes sold 38,266 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.56, for a total value of $3,312,304.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 271,169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,472,388.64. This represents a 12.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Brunswick

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Brunswick by 72.3% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 379 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Brunswick in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. First Horizon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Brunswick in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Brunswick by 38.4% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 440 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Brunswick by 50.6% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 494 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. 99.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Brunswick

Founded in 1845 by John Moses Brunswick, Brunswick Corporation is a global leader in recreation products. Headquartered in Mettawa, Illinois, the company has evolved from its origins as a billiard table manufacturer into a diversified supplier of leisure equipment, serving both consumer and commercial markets around the world.

Brunswick operates through two primary segments: Marine and Bowling & Billiards. In its Marine segment, the company designs, manufactures and distributes recreational boats, outboard engines and aftermarket parts under recognized brands such as Sea Ray, Bayliner and Mercury Marine.

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