Polaris (NYSE:PII) Cut to “Sell” at Citigroup

Citigroup cut shares of Polaris (NYSE:PII) from a neutral rating to a sell rating in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $33.00 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of $49.00.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on PII. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Polaris from $64.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of Polaris from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $60.00 price objective (down from $81.00) on shares of Polaris in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Polaris from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Polaris from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.83.

Polaris Price Performance

PII opened at $41.95 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 13.95 and a beta of 1.54. Polaris has a fifty-two week low of $39.29 and a fifty-two week high of $100.91. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $47.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27.

Polaris (NYSE:PII) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.03. Polaris had a return on equity of 13.78% and a net margin of 1.54%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Polaris will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Polaris Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This is a positive change from Polaris’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Polaris’s payout ratio is presently 136.73%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Polaris by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $229,000 after acquiring an additional 551 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Polaris during the 4th quarter worth $2,992,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management lifted its position in Polaris by 525.5% during the 4th quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management now owns 38,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,233,000 after acquiring an additional 32,568 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its position in Polaris by 125.4% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 3,388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Polaris by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 143,705 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,280,000 after acquiring an additional 22,643 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Polaris Company Profile

Polaris Inc designs, engineers, manufactures, and markets powersports vehicles in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Off-Road, On-Road, and Marine. The company offers off-road vehicles (ORVs), including all-terrain vehicles and side-by-side vehicles; military and commercial ORVs; snowmobiles; motorcycles; and moto-roadsters, quadricycles, and boats.