Newell Brands Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:NWL)

Newell Brands Inc. (NASDAQ:NWL) was the target of some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock traders acquired 9,577 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 415% compared to the average volume of 1,861 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Newell Brands

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its holdings in Newell Brands by 39.8% in the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 329,711 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,862,000 after buying an additional 93,791 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in Newell Brands by 15.3% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 77,221 shares of the company’s stock worth $620,000 after purchasing an additional 10,240 shares during the period. Elm Ridge Management LLC raised its position in Newell Brands by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Elm Ridge Management LLC now owns 111,717 shares of the company’s stock worth $970,000 after purchasing an additional 9,179 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Newell Brands by 88,271.7% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 162,604 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,411,000 after acquiring an additional 162,420 shares during the period. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP increased its position in shares of Newell Brands by 30.6% during the first quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 687,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,522,000 after acquiring an additional 161,313 shares during the period. 92.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on NWL. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Newell Brands from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Barclays upgraded Newell Brands from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $8.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Newell Brands from $8.00 to $6.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Newell Brands from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Newell Brands from $8.00 to $6.25 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Newell Brands presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $8.18.

Newell Brands Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NWL opened at $8.91 on Friday. Newell Brands has a twelve month low of $5.39 and a twelve month high of $11.61. The company has a 50 day moving average of $6.90 and a 200 day moving average of $7.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 1.15.

Newell Brands (NASDAQ:NWL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.05 billion. Newell Brands had a negative net margin of 3.70% and a positive return on equity of 11.21%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.24 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Newell Brands will post 0.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Newell Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st were paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. Newell Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently -38.89%.

Newell Brands Company Profile

Newell Brands Inc engages in the design, manufacture, sourcing, and distribution of consumer and commercial products worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Home and Commercial Solutions, Learning and Development, and Outdoor and Recreation. The Commercial Solutions segment provides commercial cleaning and maintenance solution products under the Rubbermaid, Rubbermaid Commercial Products, Mapa, and Spontex brands; closet and garage organization products; hygiene systems and material handling solutions; household products, such as kitchen appliances under the Crockpot, Mr.