Polaris (NYSE:PII) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Polaris (NYSE:PII) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning.

Several other analysts also recently commented on PII. Longbow Research restated a neutral rating on shares of Polaris in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Polaris from $97.00 to $82.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Polaris from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Polaris from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $87.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Polaris from $86.00 to $83.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $89.18.

Polaris Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE PII traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $80.19. The company had a trading volume of 112,313 shares, compared to its average volume of 786,402. The company has a market capitalization of $4.47 billion, a PE ratio of 11.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.05 and a beta of 1.53. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $86.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. Polaris has a one year low of $71.90 and a one year high of $127.29.

Polaris (NYSE:PII) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by ($0.89). The business had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. Polaris had a return on equity of 26.38% and a net margin of 3.98%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.42 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Polaris will post 3.79 EPS for the current year.

Polaris Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. Polaris’s payout ratio is 38.71%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Polaris

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PII. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Polaris in the 1st quarter worth $108,890,000. Verity & Verity LLC bought a new stake in shares of Polaris in the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Polaris by 311.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 387,012 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,307,000 after acquiring an additional 292,992 shares during the last quarter. Eubel Brady & Suttman Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Polaris in the 2nd quarter worth about $15,363,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of Polaris by 190.3% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 261,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,818,000 after acquiring an additional 171,672 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Polaris

Polaris Inc designs, engineers, manufactures, and markets powersports vehicles in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Off-Road, On-Road, and Marine. The company offers off-road vehicles (ORVs), including all-terrain vehicles and side-by-side vehicles; military and commercial ORVs; snowmobiles; motorcycles; and moto-roadsters, quadricycles, and boats.