Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWBI) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Smith & Wesson Brands experienced a 40.9% increase in short interest in July, with 4.1 million shares sold short, accounting for approximately 9.5% of the company's stock.
• Analyst opinions are mixed: while Lake Street Capital set a buy rating with a price target of $11.00, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares from a "hold" to a "sell" rating.
• The company reported earnings of $0.20 per share for the last quarter, which was lower than analysts' expectations of $0.23, marking an 11.6% decline in revenue year-over-year.

Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWBI - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 4,100,000 shares, agrowthof40.9% from the July 15th total of 2,910,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 817,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.0 days. Approximately9.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Approximately9.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 817,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.0 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its position in Smith & Wesson Brands by 12.2% during the 2nd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 11,403 shares of the company's stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 1,237 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in Smith & Wesson Brands by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 27,408 shares of the company's stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 1,315 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Smith & Wesson Brands by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 18,682 shares of the company's stock valued at $162,000 after purchasing an additional 1,405 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in Smith & Wesson Brands by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 49,661 shares of the company's stock valued at $502,000 after purchasing an additional 1,482 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its position in Smith & Wesson Brands by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 69,397 shares of the company's stock valued at $647,000 after purchasing an additional 1,497 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 59.33% of the company's stock.

Smith & Wesson Brands Trading Down 0.1%

NASDAQ SWBI traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $8.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 683,930 shares, compared to its average volume of 680,136. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.33. The stock has a market cap of $361.68 million, a P/E ratio of 30.45 and a beta of 0.91. Smith & Wesson Brands has a 52 week low of $7.73 and a 52 week high of $15.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 4.16 and a quick ratio of 1.31.

Smith & Wesson Brands (NASDAQ:SWBI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 18th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $140.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $152.41 million. Smith & Wesson Brands had a net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 3.71%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.45 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Smith & Wesson Brands will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Smith & Wesson Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 21st. Investors of record on Monday, July 7th were issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 7th. Smith & Wesson Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 192.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SWBI shares. Lake Street Capital cut their price objective on shares of Smith & Wesson Brands from $12.50 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Smith & Wesson Brands from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Smith & Wesson Brands has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $12.00.

About Smith & Wesson Brands

Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the manufacture, design, and provision of firearms. Its portfolio includes handguns, long guns, handcuffs, suppressor, and other firearm-related products. The firm's brands are Smith & Wesson, M&P, Thompson/Center Arms, and Gemtech.