Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPB) Short Interest Update

Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPB) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,550,000 shares, a growth of 21.1% from the January 31st total of 1,280,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 416,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.7 days. Approximately 6.2% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SPB. UBS Group cut their price target on Spectrum Brands from $114.00 to $109.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Spectrum Brands from $92.00 to $88.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Spectrum Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $94.00 to $102.00 in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Spectrum Brands from $114.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.43.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Spectrum Brands by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 1,333,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,654,000 after buying an additional 22,484 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Spectrum Brands by 1.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 590,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,154,000 after buying an additional 7,783 shares in the last quarter. Callodine Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Spectrum Brands by 29.8% in the fourth quarter. Callodine Capital Management LP now owns 527,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,568,000 after buying an additional 121,000 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Spectrum Brands by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 513,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,809,000 after acquiring an additional 36,063 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd raised its stake in shares of Spectrum Brands by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 461,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,998,000 after acquiring an additional 36,798 shares during the last quarter.

Spectrum Brands Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE SPB traded up $0.44 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $74.41. 414,958 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 456,208. The company’s fifty day moving average is $81.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.97. Spectrum Brands has a fifty-two week low of $73.12 and a fifty-two week high of $96.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 2.40. The stock has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a PE ratio of 18.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.20.

Spectrum Brands (NYSE:SPB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.11. Spectrum Brands had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 6.44%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Spectrum Brands will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Spectrum Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. Spectrum Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.19%.

Spectrum Brands Company Profile

Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc operates as a branded consumer products and home essentials company in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific regions. It operates through three segments: Home and Personal Care; Global Pet Care; and Home and Garden. The Home and Personal Care segment provides home appliances under the Black & Decker, Russell Hobbs, George Foreman, PowerXL, Emeril Legasse, Copper Chef, Toastmaster, Juiceman, Farberware, and Breadman brands; and personal care products under the Remington brand.