Pacer Advisors Inc. Takes Position in Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. $SWBI

Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWBI) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 153,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,205,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SWBI. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Smith & Wesson Brands during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Smith & Wesson Brands during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Smith & Wesson Brands by 205.9% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 4,200 shares in the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Smith & Wesson Brands by 12.2% during the second quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 11,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 1,237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Smith & Wesson Brands during the second quarter valued at approximately $101,000. 59.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Smith & Wesson Brands Stock Down 2.1%

NASDAQ SWBI opened at $14.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 3.20. The company has a market capitalization of $637.40 million, a P/E ratio of 35.63 and a beta of 0.88. Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $7.86 and a one year high of $17.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $15.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $14.08.

Smith & Wesson Brands (NASDAQ:SWBI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 17th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.13. Smith & Wesson Brands had a net margin of 3.53% and a return on equity of 5.01%. The firm had revenue of $178.39 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $155.27 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.20 earnings per share. Smith & Wesson Brands’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. will post 0.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Smith & Wesson Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st were paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 1st. Smith & Wesson Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 130.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on SWBI shares. Lake Street Capital upped their target price on shares of Smith & Wesson Brands from $14.00 to $16.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Smith & Wesson Brands from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Smith & Wesson Brands to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Smith & Wesson Brands presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.50.

Smith & Wesson Brands 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.