Smith & Wesson Brands (NASDAQ:SWBI) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWBI)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $14.83 and last traded at $14.6710, with a volume of 146009 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $14.42.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on SWBI shares. Lake Street Capital boosted their target price on Smith & Wesson Brands from $11.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Smith & Wesson Brands in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Smith & Wesson Brands from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.00.

Smith & Wesson Brands Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 4.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $663.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.61 and a beta of 1.04.

Smith & Wesson Brands (NASDAQ:SWBI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $135.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $125.59 million. Smith & Wesson Brands had a return on equity of 3.07% and a net margin of 2.24%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.02 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. will post 0.47 EPS for the current year.

Smith & Wesson Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, March 19th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 19th. Smith & Wesson Brands’s payout ratio is 226.09%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Smith & Wesson Brands

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Smith & Wesson Brands in the fourth quarter worth $153,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Smith & Wesson Brands by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 137,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,352,000 after buying an additional 2,983 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in Smith & Wesson Brands by 49.3% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 29,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $294,000 after buying an additional 9,835 shares during the last quarter. Oxford Asset Management LLP bought a new position in Smith & Wesson Brands in the 4th quarter worth $140,000. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new position in Smith & Wesson Brands in the 4th quarter worth $439,000. Institutional investors own 59.33% of the company’s stock.

Smith & Wesson Brands Company Profile

Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc is a leading American manufacturer of firearms and related products, designing, producing and marketing a broad array of handguns, long guns and shooting accessories. The company’s portfolio includes revolvers, semi-automatic pistols and rifles under well-known brands such as M&P® (Military & Police) and Performance Center®, which are used by military, law enforcement, commercial and private customers. In addition to complete firearms, Smith & Wesson offers suppressors, optics mounts, holsters and other shooting accessories to support a full spectrum of professional and recreational shooting activities.

Founded in 1852 by Horace Smith and Daniel B.