Brunswick (NYSE:BC) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $50.43 and last traded at $50.49, with a volume of 335826 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $55.56.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup decreased their target price on Brunswick from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Roth Mkm decreased their price target on shares of Brunswick from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Brunswick from $95.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Brunswick from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Brunswick from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.62.

Brunswick Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $61.53 and a 200-day moving average of $71.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.27 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Brunswick (NYSE:BC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.06. Brunswick had a return on equity of 15.41% and a net margin of 2.48%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.45 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Brunswick Co. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brunswick Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This is a boost from Brunswick’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. Brunswick’s dividend payout ratio is 90.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Nancy E. Cooper sold 433 shares of Brunswick stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $28,426.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 25,361 shares in the company, valued at $1,664,949.65. The trade was a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Randall S. Altman sold 3,417 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.21, for a total transaction of $215,988.57. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 26,683 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,686,632.43. This represents a 11.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brunswick

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in Brunswick in the 4th quarter valued at about $368,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Brunswick by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 766,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,578,000 after acquiring an additional 109,728 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Brunswick by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,462,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,599,000 after acquiring an additional 41,583 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Brunswick during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,827,000. Finally, Channing Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Brunswick by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 1,025,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,305,000 after purchasing an additional 100,412 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.34% of the company’s stock.

About Brunswick

Brunswick Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets recreation products in the United States, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Propulsion, Engine P&A, Navico Group, and Boat. The Propulsion segment provides outboard, sterndrive, inboard engines, propulsion-related controls, rigging, and propellers for boat builders through marine retail dealers under the Mercury, Mercury MerCruiser, Mariner, Mercury Racing, Mercury Diesel, Avator, and Fliteboard brands.