Robert W. Baird Issues Positive Forecast for Polaris (NYSE:PII) Stock Price

Key Points

• Polaris's target price was raised from $46.00 to $55.00 by Robert W. Baird, maintaining a "neutral" rating on the stock.
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $0.40 earnings per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, but revenue decreased by 5.5% year-over-year.
• Currently, Polaris has a consensus rating of "Hold" from analysts, with two sell ratings and eleven hold ratings contributing to an average target price of $46.33.

Polaris (NYSE:PII - Free Report) had its price objective boosted by Robert W. Baird from $46.00 to $55.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Polaris from $54.00 to $34.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen cut Polaris from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Polaris from $31.00 to $29.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Roth Capital boosted their price objective on Polaris from $32.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Baird R W cut Polaris from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $48.33.

Polaris Stock Down 6.5%

Shares of PII traded down $3.42 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $49.49. 743,204 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,741,485. Polaris has a 52 week low of $30.92 and a 52 week high of $87.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company's 50 day moving average is $44.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.79. The company has a market capitalization of $2.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.34 and a beta of 1.05.

Polaris (NYSE:PII - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.35. Polaris had a positive return on equity of 5.16% and a negative net margin of 1.57%. The company had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Polaris will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Polaris Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.4%. Polaris's dividend payout ratio is currently 372.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Polaris

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Polaris by 20.4% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,238 shares of the company's stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 888 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Polaris by 52.2% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 13,690 shares of the company's stock worth $789,000 after acquiring an additional 4,694 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Polaris during the 4th quarter worth about $611,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Polaris by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,642,463 shares of the company's stock worth $325,119,000 after acquiring an additional 39,858 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Polaris in the 4th quarter valued at about $24,659,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Polaris Company Profile

Polaris Inc designs, engineers, manufactures, and markets powersports vehicles in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Off-Road, On-Road, and Marine. The company offers off-road vehicles (ORVs), including all-terrain vehicles and side-by-side vehicles; military and commercial ORVs; snowmobiles; motorcycles; and moto-roadsters, quadricycles, and boats.