Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $79.00.

Several research analysts have issued reports on BC shares. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $56.00 price target (down previously from $90.00) on shares of Brunswick in a report on Friday. Citigroup reduced their target price on Brunswick from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Brunswick from $95.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. DA Davidson decreased their target price 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Brunswick from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st.

Insider Activity at Brunswick

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brunswick

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of Brunswick by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 43,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,685,000 after acquiring an additional 3,399 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Brunswick by 134.5% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,713 shares of the company’s stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 3,850 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in Brunswick by 13.6% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 10,422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $874,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Brunswick in the third quarter valued at approximately $5,280,000. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new stake in shares of Brunswick in the third quarter worth $313,000. 99.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Brunswick Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of Brunswick stock opened at $46.60 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $70.97. The firm has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.53 and a beta of 1.54. Brunswick has a fifty-two week low of $42.83 and a fifty-two week high of $94.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.65 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.06. Brunswick had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 15.41%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.45 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Brunswick will post 4.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brunswick Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This is an increase from Brunswick’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.69%. Brunswick’s dividend payout ratio is 90.53%.

Brunswick Company Profile

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.