Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWBI) Short Interest Up 23.9% in March

Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWBI) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,920,000 shares, an increase of 23.9% from the February 28th total of 1,550,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 506,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days. Currently, 4.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SWBI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Craig Hallum lowered shares of Smith & Wesson Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $13.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Lake Street Capital dropped their price target on Smith & Wesson Brands from $13.00 to $12.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th.

Smith & Wesson Brands Stock Up 1.5 %

SWBI traded up $0.14 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $9.47. The company had a trading volume of 120,675 shares, compared to its average volume of 463,979. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $10.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.54. The company has a market capitalization of $416.71 million, a PE ratio of 12.14 and a beta of 1.09. 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 has a one year low of $9.17 and a one year high of $17.99.

Smith & Wesson Brands (NASDAQ:SWBI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.02. Smith & Wesson Brands had a return on equity of 8.78% and a net margin of 7.00%. The company had revenue of $115.89 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $119.46 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Smith & Wesson Brands will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Smith & Wesson Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.49%. Smith & Wesson Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 80.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Smith & Wesson Brands

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Smith & Wesson Brands by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,063,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,960,000 after acquiring an additional 104,128 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Smith & Wesson Brands by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,067,955 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,865,000 after buying an additional 7,260 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Smith & Wesson Brands by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 525,374 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,309,000 after buying an additional 80,235 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Smith & Wesson Brands by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 415,205 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,196,000 after buying an additional 21,362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Smith & Wesson Brands during the fourth quarter worth $2,049,000. Institutional investors own 59.33% of the company’s stock.

Smith & Wesson Brands Company Profile

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.