Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $81.62.

BC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird set a $90.00 price target on Brunswick in a research note on Friday, January 31st. B. Riley raised shares of Brunswick to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Brunswick from $95.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Brunswick from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their target price on Brunswick from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd.

Brunswick Price Performance

BC stock opened at $53.40 on Monday. Brunswick has a 1 year low of $52.99 and a 1 year high of $96.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $3.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.11 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $71.81.

Brunswick (NYSE:BC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.06. Brunswick had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 15.41%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.45 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Brunswick will post 4.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brunswick Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is an increase from Brunswick’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. Brunswick’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.53%.

Insider Activity at Brunswick

In other Brunswick news, Director Nancy E. Cooper sold 433 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $28,426.45. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,664,949.65. This trade represents a 1.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Randall S. Altman sold 3,417 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.21, for a total transaction of $215,988.57. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 26,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,686,632.43. The trade was a 11.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.81% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in Brunswick in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Financial Perspectives Inc purchased a new position in shares of Brunswick in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Brunswick in the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. KBC Group NV grew its position in Brunswick by 42.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $187,000 after buying an additional 867 shares during the period. Finally, Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Brunswick during the fourth quarter worth about $203,000. Institutional investors own 99.34% of the company’s stock.

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.