Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWBI) Short Interest Update

Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWBI) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,550,000 shares, a drop of 22.5% from the February 13th total of 2,000,000 shares. Currently, 3.6% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 647,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SWBI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Craig Hallum lowered Smith & Wesson Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $13.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Lake Street Capital reduced their target price on Smith & Wesson Brands from $13.00 to $12.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th.

Smith & Wesson Brands Stock Performance

SWBI stock opened at $10.04 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $441.79 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.87 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 3.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Smith & Wesson Brands has a twelve month low of $9.17 and a twelve month high of $18.05. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.88.

Smith & Wesson Brands (NASDAQ:SWBI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.02. The firm had revenue of $115.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $119.46 million. Smith & Wesson Brands had a return on equity of 8.78% and a net margin of 7.00%. Analysts predict that Smith & Wesson Brands will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Smith & Wesson Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.18%. Smith & Wesson Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Smith & Wesson Brands

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Smith & Wesson Brands by 5.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 29,249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $378,000 after buying an additional 1,598 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Smith & Wesson Brands by 240.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 80,449 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,046,000 after purchasing an additional 56,800 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its stake in Smith & Wesson Brands by 380.9% in the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 62,197 shares of the company’s stock valued at $807,000 after purchasing an additional 49,264 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Smith & Wesson Brands by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,067,955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,865,000 after purchasing an additional 7,260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Smith & Wesson Brands in the fourth quarter valued at about $114,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.33% of the company’s stock.

Smith & Wesson Brands Company Profile

Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the manufacture, design, and provision of firearms. Its portfolio includes handguns, long guns, handcuffs, suppressor, and other firearm-related products. The firm’s brands are Smith & Wesson, M&P, Thompson/Center Arms, and Gemtech.