Brunswick (NYSE:BC) Given "Neutral" Rating at BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas reissued their neutral rating on shares of Brunswick (NYSE:BC - Free Report) in a research note released on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $82.00 target price on the stock, down from their prior target price of $94.00.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on BC. DA Davidson reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $77.00 price target on shares of Brunswick in a report on Friday, March 15th. Raymond James lowered Brunswick from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Brunswick from $88.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on Brunswick from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, B. Riley upgraded shares of Brunswick from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their price target for the company from $100.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Brunswick presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $92.69.

Brunswick Stock Performance

BC stock traded down $1.67 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $85.48. 656,248 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 742,949. Brunswick has a 12 month low of $66.47 and a 12 month high of $99.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.44 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.42.

Brunswick (NYSE:BC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.66 by ($0.21). The business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. Brunswick had a return on equity of 29.78% and a net margin of 6.57%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.99 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Brunswick will post 7.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brunswick Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $0.42 dividend. This is an increase from Brunswick's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Brunswick's payout ratio is 28.24%.

Insider Activity

In other Brunswick news, CEO David M. Foulkes sold 35,000 shares of Brunswick stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.11, for a total transaction of $3,048,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 272,626 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,748,450.86. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO David M. Foulkes sold 35,000 shares of Brunswick stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.11, for a total transaction of $3,048,850.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 272,626 shares in the company, valued at $23,748,450.86. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Ryan M. Gwillim sold 9,036 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.10, for a total value of $787,035.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,966 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,522,938.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,696 shares of company stock worth $4,574,199 over the last three months. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its holdings in Brunswick by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 2,863 shares of the company's stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Brunswick by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 3,793 shares of the company's stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC raised its stake in shares of Brunswick by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 2,187 shares of the company's stock valued at $179,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Brunswick by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,645 shares of the company's stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wrapmanager Inc. boosted its stake in Brunswick by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wrapmanager Inc. now owns 2,806 shares of the company's stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.34% of the company's stock.

Brunswick Company Profile

Brunswick Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets recreation products in the United States, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Propulsion, Engine P&A, Navico Group, and Boat. The Propulsion segment provides outboard, sterndrive, inboard engines, propulsion-related controls, rigging, and propellers for boat builders through marine retail dealers under the Mercury, Mercury MerCruiser, Mariner, Mercury Racing, Mercury Diesel, Avator, and Fliteboard brands.