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

Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWBI) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,000,000 shares, a growth of 36.1% from the January 31st total of 1,470,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 592,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days. Currently, 4.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SWBI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Lake Street Capital raised shares of Smith & Wesson Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $13.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Craig Hallum downgraded shares of Smith & Wesson Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $18.00 to $13.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Smith & Wesson Brands by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 12,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 1,018 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Smith & Wesson Brands by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 27,408 shares of the company’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 1,315 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in Smith & Wesson Brands by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 49,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $502,000 after purchasing an additional 1,482 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Smith & Wesson Brands by 5.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 29,249 shares of the company’s stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 1,598 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Smith & Wesson Brands by 45.5% during the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 5,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 1,867 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.33% of the company’s stock.

Smith & Wesson Brands Stock Performance

SWBI stock traded up $0.05 on Wednesday, reaching $10.80. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 416,021 shares, compared to its average volume of 400,912. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $10.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 3.97 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The company has a market capitalization of $475.23 million, a P/E ratio of 13.85 and a beta of 1.09. Smith & Wesson Brands has a 52 week low of $9.68 and a 52 week high of $18.05.

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

Smith & Wesson Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, December 19th were paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 19th. Smith & Wesson Brands’s payout ratio is presently 66.67%.

About Smith & Wesson Brands

Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the manufacture, design, and provision of firearms. Its portfolio includes handguns, long guns, handcuffs, suppressor, and other firearm-related products. The firm’s brands are Smith & Wesson, M&P, Thompson/Center Arms, and Gemtech.