Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPB) Short Interest Up 21.1% in February

Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPB) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in 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 trading volume of 416,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days. Approximately 6.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Spectrum Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SPB opened at $75.18 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a PE ratio of 18.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.40 and a quick ratio of 1.53. The business has a 50-day moving average of $81.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $87.76. Spectrum Brands has a 12 month low of $73.12 and a 12 month high of $96.74.

Spectrum Brands (NYSE:SPB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.11. Spectrum Brands had a return on equity of 6.44% and a net margin of 4.01%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Spectrum Brands will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Spectrum Brands Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. Spectrum Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.19%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spectrum Brands

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

About Spectrum Brands

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.