Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWBI) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWBI) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,420,000 shares, a drop of 35.5% from the December 31st total of 2,200,000 shares. Currently, 3.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 619,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SWBI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Lake Street Capital raised shares of Smith & Wesson Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $13.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday. Craig Hallum downgraded shares of Smith & Wesson Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $18.00 to $13.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Smith & Wesson Brands

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SWBI. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Smith & Wesson Brands by 2,773.0% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,126 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 2,052 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Smith & Wesson Brands by 1,198.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 2,684 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Smith & Wesson Brands by 823.8% in the third quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 4,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 3,567 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Smith & Wesson Brands in the third quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Smith & Wesson Brands during the second quarter worth $59,000. Institutional investors own 59.33% of the company’s stock.

Smith & Wesson Brands Price Performance

SWBI opened at $10.64 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 3.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Smith & Wesson Brands has a 52-week low of $9.68 and a 52-week high of $18.05. The company has a 50 day moving average of $11.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.00. The company has a market cap of $468.16 million, a P/E ratio of 13.64 and a beta of 1.02.

Smith & Wesson Brands (NASDAQ:SWBI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $129.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $133.53 million. Smith & Wesson Brands had a net margin of 7.00% and a return on equity of 8.78%. Smith & Wesson Brands’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.14 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Smith & Wesson Brands will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Smith & Wesson Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, December 19th were issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 19th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.89%. Smith & Wesson Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.67%.

About Smith & Wesson Brands

Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the manufacture, design, and provision of firearms. Its portfolio includes handguns, long guns, handcuffs, suppressor, and other firearm-related products. The firm’s brands are Smith & Wesson, M&P, Thompson/Center Arms, and Gemtech.