Acushnet (NYSE:GOLF) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Acushnet (NYSE:GOLF)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $95.50 and last traded at $93.9750, with a volume of 74657 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $93.11.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Acushnet from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Acushnet in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Acushnet from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Roth Mkm reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Acushnet in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Acushnet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Acushnet presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.67.

Acushnet Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $84.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.42. The company has a market cap of $5.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.54 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Acushnet (NYSE:GOLF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.85 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $657.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $632.76 million. Acushnet had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 27.50%. The company’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Acushnet will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Acushnet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. Acushnet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Acushnet

In other news, CEO David Eugene Maher sold 26,939 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.33, for a total value of $2,137,070.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 852,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,596,458.36. This represents a 3.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven Francis Pelisek sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.66, for a total transaction of $1,693,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 76,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,434,667.96. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 71,460 shares of company stock worth $5,786,311 in the last three months. Insiders own 53.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GOLF. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Acushnet by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Acushnet by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Acushnet by 0.3% during the third quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 46,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,630,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Acushnet by 57.3% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its holdings in shares of Acushnet by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 3,472 shares of the company’s stock worth $253,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. 53.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Acushnet Company Profile

Acushnet Holdings Corp., traded on the NYSE under the symbol GOLF, is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of golf equipment, footwear, apparel and accessories. The company’s portfolio encompasses a range of golf lifestyle products, with a focus on innovation, performance and quality for players of all skill levels.

At the core of Acushnet’s product lineup is the Titleist brand, globally recognized for its Tour-level golf balls and precision-engineered clubs. FootJoy offers golf shoes, gloves and apparel that blend comfort, style and technical performance, while Scotty Cameron putters and Vokey design wedges cater to players seeking exacting standards in feel and accuracy.