Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 7,975 Shares of Vista Outdoor Inc. (NYSE:VSTO)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Vista Outdoor Inc. (NYSE:VSTO) by 2.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 295,083 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,975 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Vista Outdoor were worth $11,561,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Vista Outdoor by 1.2% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 508,904 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,160,000 after buying an additional 5,945 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vista Outdoor in the 2nd quarter worth about $413,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Vista Outdoor by 177,334.1% in the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 78,071 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,939,000 after purchasing an additional 78,027 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Vista Outdoor by 87.3% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 48,893 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,841,000 after purchasing an additional 22,787 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in Vista Outdoor by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 15,464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $582,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.51% of the company’s stock.

Vista Outdoor Stock Performance

Shares of VSTO stock opened at $44.63 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 2.90 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -247.94 and a beta of 0.79. Vista Outdoor Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.05 and a 1 year high of $44.72. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $44.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.81.

Vista Outdoor (NYSE:VSTO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $665.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $666.72 million. Vista Outdoor had a positive return on equity of 19.53% and a negative net margin of 0.34%. Vista Outdoor’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vista Outdoor Inc. will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VSTO has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Vista Outdoor in a research note on Wednesday, December 25th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut Vista Outdoor from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Aegis lowered Vista Outdoor from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Roth Mkm downgraded Vista Outdoor from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $42.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Roth Capital cut Vista Outdoor from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.20.

Vista Outdoor Company Profile

Vista Outdoor Inc designs, manufactures, and markets outdoor recreation and shooting sports products. in the United States and internationally. The Kinetic Group segment designs, develops, distributes, and manufactures ammunition, primers, and components for hunters, recreational shooters, federal and local law enforcement agencies, and the military.