Great Lakes Advisors LLC Sells 95,923 Shares of Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc. $SPB

Key Points

• Great Lakes Advisors LLC reduced its position in Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc. by 63.1% in Q1, now owning 56,145 shares worth approximately $4.02 million.
• Multiple institutional investors have adjusted their stakes in Spectrum Brands, with Goldman Sachs increasing holdings by 40.9% to 393,084 shares valued at about $28.1 million.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Spectrum Brands with price targets ranging from $60.00 to $86.00, while the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Great Lakes Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc. (NYSE:SPB - Free Report) by 63.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 56,145 shares of the company's stock after selling 95,923 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned about 0.22% of Spectrum Brands worth $4,017,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Spectrum Brands by 142.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 634,137 shares of the company's stock worth $44,592,000 after acquiring an additional 372,630 shares during the period. Callodine Capital Management LP increased its position in Spectrum Brands by 38.4% during the first quarter. Callodine Capital Management LP now owns 730,000 shares of the company's stock worth $52,232,000 after buying an additional 202,500 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc grew its position in shares of Spectrum Brands by 160.5% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 320,178 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,052,000 after purchasing an additional 197,263 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in shares of Spectrum Brands by 403.9% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 233,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,754,000 after purchasing an additional 187,400 shares during the period. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp boosted its holdings in Spectrum Brands by 33.1% in the first quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 750,029 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,665,000 after acquiring an additional 186,729 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on SPB. Wall Street Zen upgraded Spectrum Brands from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on Spectrum Brands from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Spectrum Brands from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $75.00 target price on shares of Spectrum Brands and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $74.80.

Spectrum Brands Price Performance

Shares of Spectrum Brands stock traded down $1.47 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $53.43. The company had a trading volume of 267,940 shares, compared to its average volume of 376,625. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market capitalization of $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.94 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.31. Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $50.73 and a 1-year high of $96.62.

Spectrum Brands (NYSE:SPB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by ($0.01). Spectrum Brands had a return on equity of 5.27% and a net margin of 2.56%.The business had revenue of $699.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $742.13 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. Spectrum Brands's revenue was down 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc. will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Spectrum Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Spectrum Brands's payout ratio is currently 70.15%.

About Spectrum Brands

Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc operates as a branded consumer products and home essentials company in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific regions. It operates through three segments: Home and Personal Care; Global Pet Care; and Home and Garden. The Home and Personal Care segment provides home appliances under the Black & Decker, Russell Hobbs, George Foreman, PowerXL, Emeril Legasse, Copper Chef, Toastmaster, Juiceman, Farberware, and Breadman brands; and personal care products under the Remington brand.