Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) Short Interest Up 13.8% in October

Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,360,000 shares, a growth of 13.8% from the October 15th total of 4,710,000 shares. Currently, 7.9% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 688,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.8 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brunswick

In related news, Director Nancy E. Cooper sold 414 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.57, for a total value of $28,387.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,500,791.59. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brunswick

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brunswick by 94.8% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 18,233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,580,000 after purchasing an additional 8,874 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp bought a new stake in shares of Brunswick during the 1st quarter worth about $772,000. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Brunswick by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 25,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,074,000 after acquiring an additional 577 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Brunswick by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 6,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $563,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Brunswick by 13.6% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 109,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,951,000 after purchasing an additional 13,065 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.44% of the company’s stock.

Brunswick Price Performance

NYSE BC opened at $75.61 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.81. Brunswick has a 52-week low of $66.47 and a 52-week high of $93.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.77 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

Brunswick (NYSE:BC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.06. Brunswick had a net margin of 7.57% and a return on equity of 32.09%. The business had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.67 EPS. Brunswick’s revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Brunswick will post 9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brunswick Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Brunswick’s payout ratio is 22.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on BC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Brunswick from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $109.00 to $79.00 in a report on Monday, September 11th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $91.00 price target on shares of Brunswick in a research report on Tuesday, September 19th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Brunswick from $102.00 to $92.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 19th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Brunswick from $94.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Brunswick from $84.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.21.

About Brunswick

Brunswick Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets recreation products worldwide. It operates through three segments: Propulsion, Parts & Accessories, and Boat. The Propulsion segment provides outboard, sterndrive, and inboard engines for independent boat builders and governments through marine dealers and distributors, specialty marine retailers, and marine service centers; and propulsion-related controls, rigging, and propellers to original equipment manufacturers and aftermarket retailers, distributors, and distribution businesses.