Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Invests $366,000 in Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 10,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $366,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Energizer by 94.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,554 shares of the company's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 753 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Energizer by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,023 shares of the company's stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Energizer during the fourth quarter worth about $82,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Energizer during the fourth quarter worth about $102,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Energizer in the 4th quarter valued at about $112,000. 93.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Energizer Price Performance

ENR stock traded down $0.07 on Thursday, reaching $22.89. 222,000 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 653,197. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $26.73 and a 200-day moving average of $31.61. The firm has a market cap of $1.65 billion, a PE ratio of 28.98 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 22.17. Energizer Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.49 and a twelve month high of $39.52.

Energizer (NYSE:ENR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.01). Energizer had a return on equity of 168.16% and a net margin of 2.02%. The company had revenue of $662.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $670.85 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. Energizer's revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Energizer Holdings, Inc. will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 21st. Energizer's dividend payout ratio is currently 164.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Donal L. Mulligan purchased 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $23.66 per share, with a total value of $236,600.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $236,600. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mark Stephen Lavigne acquired 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $21.67 per share, for a total transaction of $86,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 277,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,016,567.15. This represents a 1.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have purchased 25,000 shares of company stock worth $578,140. 0.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Energizer from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen cut Energizer from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Energizer from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Energizer from $31.00 to $27.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Energizer from $36.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $31.63.

Energizer Profile

Energizer Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and distributes household batteries, specialty batteries, and lighting products worldwide. It offers lithium, alkaline, carbon zinc, nickel metal hydride, zinc air, and silver oxide batteries under the Energizer, Eveready, and Rayovac brands; primary, rechargeable, specialty, and hearing aid batteries; and handheld, headlights, lanterns, and area lights, as well as flashlights under the Hard Case, Dolphin, and WeatherReady brands.