Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWBI) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWBI) saw a significant drop in short interest during 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. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 647,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days. Approximately 3.6% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SWBI. Lake Street Capital lowered their price target on Smith & Wesson Brands from $13.00 to $12.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Craig Hallum lowered shares of Smith & Wesson Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $18.00 to $13.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Smith & Wesson Brands in the 4th quarter worth $686,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Smith & Wesson Brands by 34.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 102,441 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,035,000 after acquiring an additional 26,086 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Smith & Wesson Brands by 59.6% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 50,924 shares of the company’s stock worth $515,000 after acquiring an additional 19,017 shares in the last quarter. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Smith & Wesson Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Smith & Wesson Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $128,000. Institutional investors own 59.33% of the company’s stock.

Smith & Wesson Brands Stock Performance

Shares of Smith & Wesson Brands stock opened at $9.80 on Wednesday. Smith & Wesson Brands has a 52 week low of $9.17 and a 52 week high of $18.05. The company has a market capitalization of $431.23 million, a PE ratio of 12.56 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $10.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.81. 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 (NASDAQ:SWBI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.02. Smith & Wesson Brands had a net margin of 7.00% and a return on equity of 8.78%. The company had revenue of $115.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $119.46 million. As a group, analysts expect that Smith & Wesson Brands will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Smith & Wesson Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.31%. Smith & Wesson Brands’s payout ratio is 80.00%.

About Smith & Wesson Brands

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.