Man Group plc Purchases Shares of 151,473 Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. $SWBI

Man Group plc acquired a new position in Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWBI) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 151,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,278,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of SWBI. PDT Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Smith & Wesson Brands in the second quarter worth about $1,981,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Smith & Wesson Brands during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $65,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in Smith & Wesson Brands during the 2nd quarter worth about $174,000. Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in shares of Smith & Wesson Brands in the second quarter worth about $330,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Smith & Wesson Brands during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,266,000. Institutional investors own 59.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SWBI. Lake Street Capital boosted their price target on Smith & Wesson Brands from $14.00 to $16.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Smith & Wesson Brands from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Smith & Wesson Brands to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.50.

Smith & Wesson Brands Trading Up 0.4%

SWBI stock opened at $12.77 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $572.61 million, a PE ratio of 31.93 and a beta of 0.88. Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $8.01 and a one year high of $17.56. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $14.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 3.20.

Smith & Wesson Brands (NASDAQ:SWBI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 17th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $178.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $155.27 million. Smith & Wesson Brands had a net margin of 3.53% and a return on equity of 5.01%. The business’s revenue was up 26.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.20 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Smith & Wesson Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 1st. Smith & Wesson Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 130.00%.

Smith & Wesson Brands Profile

Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc is a leading American manufacturer of firearms and related products, designing, producing and marketing a broad array of handguns, long guns and shooting accessories. The company’s portfolio includes revolvers, semi-automatic pistols and rifles under well-known brands such as M&P® (Military & Police) and Performance Center®, which are used by military, law enforcement, commercial and private customers. In addition to complete firearms, Smith & Wesson offers suppressors, optics mounts, holsters and other shooting accessories to support a full spectrum of professional and recreational shooting activities.

Founded in 1852 by Horace Smith and Daniel B.