Wall Street Zen Downgrades Stanley Black & Decker (NYSE:SWK) to Hold

Key Points

• Stanley Black & Decker's stock rating was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from "buy" to "hold," reflecting a cautious stance from analysts.
• Several brokerages have adjusted their price targets for the company, with JPMorgan lowering it from $93 to $60 and Barclays increasing it from $69 to $90.
• Stanley Black & Decker's recent earnings showed a year-over-year revenue decline of 3.2%, with a reported earnings per share of $0.75, slightly above consensus estimates.

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Stanley Black & Decker (NYSE:SWK - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

SWK has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Stanley Black & Decker from $65.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Stanley Black & Decker from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Stanley Black & Decker from $93.00 to $60.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group cut their price target on Stanley Black & Decker from $120.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Stanley Black & Decker from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Stanley Black & Decker presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $93.40.

Stanley Black & Decker Trading Down 7.2%

Shares of NYSE SWK traded down $5.33 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $68.60. The stock had a trading volume of 5,248,450 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,911,798. Stanley Black & Decker has a fifty-two week low of $53.91 and a fifty-two week high of $110.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $10.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.18. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $68.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.31.

Stanley Black & Decker (NYSE:SWK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.70. The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. Stanley Black & Decker had a return on equity of 7.85% and a net margin of 2.40%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.09 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Stanley Black & Decker will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

Stanley Black & Decker Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This is an increase from Stanley Black & Decker's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Stanley Black & Decker's payout ratio is currently 136.10%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stanley Black & Decker

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allen Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Stanley Black & Decker by 0.9% in the second quarter. Allen Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,659 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,264,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in shares of Stanley Black & Decker by 3.8% in the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 4,494 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $345,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Stanley Black & Decker by 15.0% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,313 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the period. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Stanley Black & Decker by 0.7% in the first quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC now owns 24,854 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,911,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Stanley Black & Decker by 8.8% during the first quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,159 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $166,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.77% of the company's stock.

About Stanley Black & Decker

Stanley Black & Decker, Inc engages in the provision of power and hand tools, and related accessories, products, services and equipment for oil and gas, infrastructure applications, commercial electronic security and monitoring systems, healthcare solutions, and mechanical access solutions. It operates through the Tools and Outdoor and Industrial segments.