ACCO Brands (NYSE:ACCO) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of ACCO Brands (NYSE:ACCO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Friday morning.

Separately, Barrington Research reduced their target price on ACCO Brands from $7.50 to $7.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th.

ACCO Brands Price Performance

NYSE:ACCO opened at $4.38 on Friday. ACCO Brands has a 12-month low of $4.30 and a 12-month high of $6.44. The firm has a market cap of $406.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.74. The company’s 50-day moving average is $4.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38.

ACCO Brands (NYSE:ACCO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The industrial products company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.01). ACCO Brands had a positive return on equity of 14.96% and a negative net margin of 6.10%. The firm had revenue of $448.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $455.06 million. Research analysts expect that ACCO Brands will post 1.02 EPS for the current year.

ACCO Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.86%. ACCO Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently -28.30%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in ACCO Brands by 127.8% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,532,460 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,045,000 after buying an additional 859,787 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of ACCO Brands by 37.4% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,067,924 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,857,000 after acquiring an additional 562,985 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of ACCO Brands by 663.4% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 410,236 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,154,000 after acquiring an additional 356,500 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in ACCO Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $1,764,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in ACCO Brands by 135.0% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 577,039 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,029,000 after purchasing an additional 331,537 shares during the period. 84.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About ACCO Brands

ACCO Brands Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets consumer, school, technology, and office products. It operates through three segments: ACCO Brands North America, ACCO Brands EMEA, and ACCO Brands International. The company provides computer and gaming accessories, planners, dry erase boards, school notebooks, and janitorial supplies; storage and organization products, such as lever-arch binders, sheet protectors, and indexes; sheet protectors and indexes; laminating, binding, and shredding machines; writing instruments and art products; stapling and punching products; and do-it-yourself tools.