Comerica Bank Raises Position in Acushnet $GOLF

Key Points

• Comerica Bank increased its stake in Acushnet by 35.5% during the first quarter, owning approximately 0.06% of the company, valued at $2.36 million.
• Acushnet reported quarterly earnings of $1.25 per share, missing estimates, with revenues of $720.48 million, up 5.4% year-over-year.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.235, translating to an annual yield of 1.2%, with a dividend payout ratio of 25.13%.

Comerica Bank raised its holdings in shares of Acushnet (NYSE:GOLF - Free Report) by 35.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 34,317 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,994 shares during the period. Comerica Bank owned about 0.06% of Acushnet worth $2,356,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky bought a new position in Acushnet during the first quarter valued at approximately $629,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Acushnet by 9.9% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 20,742 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,424,000 after buying an additional 1,860 shares during the period. Praxis Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Acushnet during the first quarter valued at about $290,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new stake in Acushnet during the first quarter valued at about $273,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Acushnet by 6.2% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 3,499 shares of the company's stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the period. 53.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Acushnet Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Acushnet stock traded up $0.17 during trading on Friday, reaching $76.36. 280,225 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 402,325. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock's fifty day moving average is $78.18 and its 200 day moving average is $70.84. The firm has a market cap of $4.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.42 and a beta of 0.90. Acushnet has a 1 year low of $55.31 and a 1 year high of $84.40.

Acushnet (NYSE:GOLF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by ($0.08). Acushnet had a return on equity of 28.05% and a net margin of 9.24%.The firm had revenue of $720.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $713.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.11 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Acushnet will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Acushnet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Acushnet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Mary Louise Bohn sold 13,190 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.85, for a total value of $1,040,031.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 191,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,122,326.10. This trade represents a 6.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Holdings Corp. Misto sold 953,406 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.56, for a total transaction of $62,505,297.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 29,523,653 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,935,570,690.68. This trade represents a 3.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 53.60% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Acushnet from $63.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Acushnet from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Acushnet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $73.33.

Acushnet Profile

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.