Energizer (NYSE:ENR) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Energizer (NYSE:ENR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Tuesday.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Barclays lowered shares of Energizer from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $34.00 to $36.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Energizer from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Energizer from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $38.00 target price on shares of Energizer in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Energizer from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.63.

Energizer Stock Performance

Shares of ENR opened at $38.11 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.51, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Energizer has a one year low of $26.92 and a one year high of $39.21. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.74 billion, a PE ratio of 73.58 and a beta of 1.04.

Energizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 27th. Energizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 230.77%.

Insider Activity at Energizer

In related news, EVP Robin Vauth sold 4,070 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.16, for a total transaction of $155,311.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $374,998.32. This trade represents a 29.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Sara B. Hampton sold 2,812 shares of Energizer stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.49, for a total transaction of $108,233.88. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $178,401.15. This trade represents a 37.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,860 shares of company stock valued at $334,694 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ENR. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its stake in shares of Energizer by 31.4% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 107,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,172,000 after acquiring an additional 25,732 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Energizer by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 47,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,386,000 after acquiring an additional 2,536 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Energizer by 220.3% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 29,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $880,000 after acquiring an additional 20,567 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank boosted its stake in shares of Energizer by 16.0% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 60,595 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,784,000 after acquiring an additional 8,366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EMC Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Energizer by 18.3% during the 1st quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 8,529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,000 after buying an additional 1,317 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.74% of the company’s stock.

Energizer Company Profile

Energizer Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and distributes household batteries, specialty batteries, and lighting products worldwide. It offers lithium, alkaline, carbon zinc, nickel metal hydride, zinc air, and silver oxide batteries under the Energizer, Eveready, and Rayovac brands; primary, rechargeable, specialty, and hearing aid batteries; and handheld, headlights, lanterns, and area lights, as well as flashlights under the Hard Case, Dolphin, and WeatherReady brands.