Acushnet (NYSE:GOLF) Hits New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Acushnet Holdings Corp. (NYSE:GOLF)’s share price hit a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $55.31 and last traded at $62.00, with a volume of 967838 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $56.27.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on GOLF shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Acushnet from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $64.00 in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of Acushnet from $80.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com downgraded Acushnet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, Compass Point raised Acushnet from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $77.00 to $80.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $72.80.

Acushnet Trading Up 1.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.98 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $65.41 and its 200-day moving average is $67.46.

Acushnet (NYSE:GOLF) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.33) by $0.31. The company had revenue of $445.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $454.83 million. Acushnet had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 7.78%. Equities analysts anticipate that Acushnet Holdings Corp. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Acushnet Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Acushnet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. Acushnet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Steven Francis Pelisek sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.86, for a total transaction of $1,417,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 96,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,802,985.16. This represents a 17.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 54.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Acushnet

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Acushnet by 100.6% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 351 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP raised its position in Acushnet by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 3,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $212,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Acushnet by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 16,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in Acushnet by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 13,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $953,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Acushnet by 39.6% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 818 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 53.12% of the company’s stock.

Acushnet Company Profile

Acushnet Holdings Corp. designs, develops, manufactures, and distributes golf products in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Japan, Korea, and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Titleist Golf Balls, Titleist Golf Clubs, Titleist Golf Gear, and FootJoy Golf Wear.