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

Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWBI) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,200,000 shares, an increase of 33.3% from the November 30th total of 1,650,000 shares. Currently, 5.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 589,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SWBI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Craig Hallum lowered shares of Smith & Wesson Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $18.00 to $13.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Lake Street Capital lowered Smith & Wesson Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $13.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th.

Institutional Trading of Smith & Wesson Brands

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

Smith & Wesson Brands Stock Performance

SWBI stock traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $9.94. 428,260 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 453,017. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 3.97 and a quick ratio of 1.43. Smith & Wesson Brands has a 1-year low of $9.78 and a 1-year high of $18.05. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.70. The firm has a market cap of $437.39 million, a P/E ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 0.96.

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

Smith & Wesson Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 19th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 19th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.23%. Smith & Wesson Brands’s payout ratio is 66.67%.

About Smith & Wesson Brands

Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells firearms worldwide. The company offers handguns, including revolvers and pistols; long guns, such as modern sporting rifles, bolt action rifles; handcuffs; suppressors; and other firearm-related products under the Smith & Wesson, M&P, and Gemtech brands.