Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) Short Interest Down 8.7% in December

Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,570,000 shares, a drop of 8.7% from the November 30th total of 3,910,000 shares. Approximately 5.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 592,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.0 days.

Brunswick Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE BC traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $64.68. The company had a trading volume of 757,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 694,336. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.49. The company has a market capitalization of $4.27 billion, a PE ratio of 16.09 and a beta of 1.50. Brunswick has a one year low of $63.08 and a one year high of $97.03.

Brunswick Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. Brunswick’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.79%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO David M. Foulkes sold 23,829 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.22, for a total value of $1,911,562.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 251,094 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,142,760.68. This represents a 8.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph W. Mcclanathan sold 4,745 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.14, for a total transaction of $380,264.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 19,218 shares in the company, valued at $1,540,130.52. This represents a 19.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 28,940 shares of company stock valued at $2,321,176. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brunswick

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BC. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Brunswick during the third quarter worth $26,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brunswick by 1,073.7% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 669 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Brunswick by 669.0% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 843 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Brunswick by 92.5% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in Brunswick by 21.6% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on BC shares. B. Riley cut shares of Brunswick from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $88.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Brunswick in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Brunswick from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.54.

About Brunswick

Brunswick Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets recreation products in the United States, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Propulsion, Engine P&A, Navico Group, and Boat. The Propulsion segment provides outboard, sterndrive, inboard engines, propulsion-related controls, rigging, and propellers for boat builders through marine retail dealers under the Mercury, Mercury MerCruiser, Mariner, Mercury Racing, Mercury Diesel, Avator, and Fliteboard brands.