Strs Ohio Reduces Stock Position in Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPB)

Strs Ohio decreased its position in shares of Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPB - Free Report) by 87.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,187 shares of the company's stock after selling 94,719 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio's holdings in Spectrum Brands were worth $1,131,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Spectrum Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,424,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new position in Spectrum Brands during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,452,000. Fifth Third Bancorp purchased a new position in Spectrum Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $71,000. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in Spectrum Brands by 32.5% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 72,330 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,667,000 after acquiring an additional 17,753 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its position in Spectrum Brands by 5.8% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 152,745 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,968,000 after acquiring an additional 8,431 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on SPB shares. StockNews.com upgraded Spectrum Brands from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, December 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Spectrum Brands from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Spectrum Brands from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $86.00 price target (up previously from $83.00) on shares of Spectrum Brands in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered Spectrum Brands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $83.00 to $86.00 in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Spectrum Brands currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $89.17.

Spectrum Brands Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE SPB traded up $0.68 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $81.19. 231,446 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 373,074. The company has a 50 day moving average of $82.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.99. The company has a quick ratio of 2.75, a current ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $63.64 and a 52-week high of $89.64. The firm has a market cap of $2.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1.76, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.20.

Spectrum Brands (NYSE:SPB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.47. Spectrum Brands had a return on equity of 4.66% and a net margin of 63.89%. The company had revenue of $692.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $674.20 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.32) EPS. Spectrum Brands's revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Spectrum Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Spectrum Brands's payout ratio is currently 3.65%.

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.