Acushnet (NYSE:GOLF) Lowered to Hold Rating by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Acushnet from a "strong-buy" to a "hold" rating, indicating a more cautious outlook on the stock's performance.
• Acushnet reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.25, which missed analysts' expectations by $0.08, despite revenue exceeding estimates by 5.4% year-over-year.
• Analyst ratings show that while one analyst rates the stock as a buy, the majority have given it hold ratings, resulting in an average consensus price target of $73.33.

Acushnet (NYSE:GOLF - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Acushnet from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Acushnet from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Acushnet from $63.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Compass Point downgraded shares of Acushnet from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $80.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Monday, May 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Acushnet presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $73.33.

Acushnet Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of GOLF traded up $1.01 during trading on Thursday, reaching $80.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 344,979 shares, compared to its average volume of 473,664. The company has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.46 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a fifty day moving average of $77.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.25. Acushnet has a twelve month low of $55.31 and a twelve month high of $84.40.

Acushnet (NYSE:GOLF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by ($0.08). Acushnet had a return on equity of 28.05% and a net margin of 9.24%.The company had revenue of $720.48 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $713.70 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.11 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Acushnet will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Acushnet news, insider Mary Louise Bohn sold 13,190 shares of Acushnet stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.85, for a total value of $1,040,031.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 191,786 shares in the company, valued at $15,122,326.10. The trade was a 6.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Holdings Corp. Misto sold 953,406 shares of Acushnet stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.56, for a total value of $62,505,297.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 29,523,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,570,690.68. This represents a 3.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 53.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Acushnet

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Acushnet by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,090,666 shares of the company's stock worth $212,205,000 after buying an additional 269,742 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Acushnet by 2.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,549,266 shares of the company's stock worth $106,366,000 after purchasing an additional 42,533 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Acushnet by 6.7% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,310,965 shares of the company's stock worth $90,011,000 after purchasing an additional 82,247 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Acushnet by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,104,699 shares of the company's stock valued at $75,849,000 after purchasing an additional 80,676 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Acushnet by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 952,453 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,358,000 after purchasing an additional 4,243 shares during the last quarter. 53.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Acushnet

Acushnet Holdings Corp. designs, develops, manufactures, and distributes golf products in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Japan, Korea, and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Titleist Golf Balls, Titleist Golf Clubs, Titleist Golf Gear, and FootJoy Golf Wear.