Spectrum Brands (NYSE:SPB) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Spectrum Brands has been upgraded from a "sell" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting a shift in analyst sentiment.
• Despite a revenue decline of 10.2% year-over-year, the company reported earnings of $1.24 per share, slightly missing expectations.
• Current analysts' consensus indicates a "Moderate Buy" rating with an average target price of $83.83 for the stock.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Spectrum Brands (NYSE:SPB - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

SPB has been the subject of several other reports. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on shares of Spectrum Brands from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Spectrum Brands from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Monness Crespi & Hardt decreased their target price on shares of Spectrum Brands from $106.00 to $86.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Spectrum Brands from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Spectrum Brands currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.80.

Spectrum Brands Stock Performance

SPB stock traded down $0.50 during trading on Friday, reaching $56.36. The company had a trading volume of 566,093 shares, compared to its average volume of 609,203. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.43. The company has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.03 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.42. Spectrum Brands has a twelve month low of $50.73 and a twelve month high of $96.62.

Spectrum Brands (NYSE:SPB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by ($0.01). Spectrum Brands had a return on equity of 5.27% and a net margin of 2.56%. The company had revenue of $699.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $742.13 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Spectrum Brands will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Spectrum Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be given a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Spectrum Brands's dividend payout ratio is currently 89.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Spectrum Brands news, CEO David M. Maura sold 66,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.53, for a total transaction of $4,324,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 723,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,417,966.71. This represents a 8.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spectrum Brands

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of SPB. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Spectrum Brands by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 7,284 shares of the company's stock worth $615,000 after buying an additional 669 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Spectrum Brands by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 10,703 shares of the company's stock worth $904,000 after buying an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Spectrum Brands by 100.8% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 5,645 shares of the company's stock valued at $488,000 after purchasing an additional 2,834 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Spectrum Brands by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 81,988 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,927,000 after purchasing an additional 9,835 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new stake in shares of Spectrum Brands in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,971,000.

Spectrum Brands Company Profile

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.