Pzena Investment Management LLC Raises Position in Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc. (NYSE:SPB)

Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc. (NYSE:SPB) by 0.1% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,334,033 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 688 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Spectrum Brands worth $95,450,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Spectrum Brands in the 4th quarter worth about $50,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Spectrum Brands by 101.7% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 970 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Spectrum Brands by 89.6% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 692 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new position in Spectrum Brands in the first quarter valued at $118,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Spectrum Brands by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,000 after buying an additional 396 shares during the period.

Spectrum Brands Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE SPB opened at $55.05 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 2.34 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a PE ratio of 26.34 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.06. Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $50.73 and a 1 year high of $96.62.

Spectrum Brands (NYSE:SPB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.67). The firm had revenue of $675.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $701.00 million. Spectrum Brands had a return on equity of 5.20% and a net margin of 2.02%. The firm’s revenue was down 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc. will post 5.06 EPS for the current year.

Spectrum Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were given a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. Spectrum Brands’s payout ratio is 89.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $77.00 price objective on shares of Spectrum Brands and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered their price objective on shares of Spectrum Brands from $106.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Spectrum Brands from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO David M. Maura sold 5,180 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.77, for a total transaction of $330,328.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 718,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,814,089.79. This represents a 0.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Spectrum Brands

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.