Wolverine World Wide (NYSE:WWW) Shares Gap Down - Here's Why

Shares of Wolverine World Wide, Inc. (NYSE:WWW - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $16.82, but opened at $16.04. Wolverine World Wide shares last traded at $16.38, with a volume of 94,334 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WWW. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Wolverine World Wide from $15.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of Wolverine World Wide in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Wolverine World Wide from $27.00 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Argus upgraded Wolverine World Wide from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $20.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Baird R W raised Wolverine World Wide from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $19.75.

Wolverine World Wide Price Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.16. The stock has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.61 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79.

Wolverine World Wide (NYSE:WWW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The textile maker reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.07. Wolverine World Wide had a return on equity of 26.81% and a net margin of 2.73%. The firm had revenue of $412.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $395.94 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.11 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Wolverine World Wide, Inc. will post 1.23 EPS for the current year.

Wolverine World Wide Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. Wolverine World Wide's dividend payout ratio is 45.98%.

Institutional Trading of Wolverine World Wide

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Wolverine World Wide by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 11,526 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Wolverine World Wide by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 8,305 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $184,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wolverine World Wide by 88.8% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,450 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 682 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Wolverine World Wide by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 9,132 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $127,000 after acquiring an additional 863 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wolverine World Wide by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 28,608 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $635,000 after acquiring an additional 1,035 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.25% of the company's stock.

Wolverine World Wide Company Profile

Wolverine World Wide, Inc designs, manufactures, sources, markets, licenses, and distributes footwear, apparel, and accessories in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, Canada and Latin America. It operates through Active Group and Work Group segments. The company offers casual footwear and apparel; performance outdoor and athletic footwear and apparel; kids' footwear; industrial work boots and apparel; and uniform shoes and boots.