Sprott Inc. $SII Shares Bought by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Sprott Inc. by 17.8%, acquiring an additional 8,636 shares, bringing its total ownership to 57,062 shares valued at approximately $2.56 million.
• Recent analyst changes include a downgrade by TD Securities from a "buy" to a "hold" rating, with the stock currently holding an average rating of "Moderate Buy".
• Sprott Inc. reported earnings of $0.52 per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, while the company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, yielding 1.8%.

Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sprott Inc. (NYSE:SII - Free Report) by 17.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 57,062 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,636 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned 0.22% of Sprott worth $2,560,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SII. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Sprott by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 52,767 shares of the company's stock worth $2,225,000 after acquiring an additional 1,472 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Sprott by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 17,631 shares of the company's stock valued at $744,000 after acquiring an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new position in shares of Sprott during the fourth quarter valued at about $869,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Sprott by 94.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 139,642 shares of the company's stock worth $5,889,000 after buying an additional 67,689 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in Sprott by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 9,071 shares of the company's stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 1,412 shares in the last quarter. 28.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, TD Securities cut shares of Sprott from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Sprott Price Performance

NYSE:SII traded up $0.48 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $69.66. 79,883 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 142,909. The company's 50 day moving average price is $68.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.09 and a beta of 1.01. Sprott Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.33 and a 52-week high of $77.16.

Sprott (NYSE:SII - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $41.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.66 million. Sprott had a net margin of 25.21% and a return on equity of 15.04%.

Sprott Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. Sprott's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.18%.

About Sprott

Sprott Inc is a publicly owned asset management holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the firm provides asset management, portfolio management, wealth management, fund management, and administrative and consulting services to its clients. It offers mutual funds, hedge funds, and offshore funds, along with managed accounts.