Brunswick (NYSE:BC) Stock Price Down 7.6% on Disappointing Earnings

Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) was down 7.6% on Thursday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $79.09 and last traded at $79.61. Approximately 604,486 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 18% from the average daily volume of 739,566 shares. The stock had previously closed at $86.13.

The company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.36 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. Brunswick had a return on equity of 25.37% and a net margin of 6.24%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 21.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.57 EPS.

Brunswick Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. This is a boost from Brunswick’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Brunswick’s dividend payout ratio is 31.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. B. Riley upgraded shares of Brunswick from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Brunswick from $88.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Brunswick from $91.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Brunswick from $115.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $77.00 target price on shares of Brunswick in a report on Friday, March 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brunswick

In other news, CEO David M. Foulkes sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.11, for a total transaction of $3,048,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 272,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,748,450.86. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO David M. Foulkes sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.11, for a total transaction of $3,048,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 272,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,748,450.86. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher F. Dekker sold 6,234 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.53, for a total transaction of $526,960.02. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 35,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,973,427.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 52,696 shares of company stock worth $4,574,199. Insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in Brunswick in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Brunswick in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new position in Brunswick in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Brunswick by 249.5% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 325 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the period. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Brunswick by 347.4% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 434 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the period. 99.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Brunswick Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average is $89.13 and its 200 day moving average is $84.77. The company has a market capitalization of $5.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.07 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

About Brunswick

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.