Wolverine World Wide (NYSE:WWW) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Shares of Wolverine World Wide, Inc. (NYSE:WWW) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $18.73, but opened at $17.38. Wolverine World Wide shares last traded at $15.43, with a volume of 426,842 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Wolverine World Wide from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $21.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Wolverine World Wide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Wolverine World Wide in a research report on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Wolverine World Wide has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.38.

Wolverine World Wide Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $22.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.79. The company has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.47 and a beta of 1.88.

Wolverine World Wide (NYSE:WWW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The textile maker reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.01. Wolverine World Wide had a negative net margin of 3.80% and a positive return on equity of 6.37%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.30) earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Wolverine World Wide, Inc. will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Wolverine World Wide Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. Wolverine World Wide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -44.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Isabel Soriano sold 7,687 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.57, for a total value of $181,182.59. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,206 shares in the company, valued at $806,235.42. The trade was a 18.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wolverine World Wide

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Wolverine World Wide during the fourth quarter worth about $64,943,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Wolverine World Wide by 1,263.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,426,942 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $24,857,000 after purchasing an additional 1,322,254 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wolverine World Wide during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $10,974,000. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new position in shares of Wolverine World Wide during the 4th quarter worth approximately $13,943,000. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wolverine World Wide by 179.1% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 628,338 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $13,949,000 after purchasing an additional 403,176 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.25% of the company’s stock.

About Wolverine World Wide

Wolverine World Wide, Inc designs, manufactures, sources, markets, licenses, and distributes footwear, apparel, and accessories in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, Canada and Latin America. It operates through Active Group and Work Group segments. The company offers casual footwear and apparel; performance outdoor and athletic footwear and apparel; kids' footwear; industrial work boots and apparel; and uniform shoes and boots.