Smith & Wesson Brands (NASDAQ:SWBI) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWBI) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $11.72 and last traded at $11.7320, with a volume of 52724 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $11.41.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SWBI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Smith & Wesson Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Smith & Wesson Brands in a report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.00.

Smith & Wesson Brands Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $519.64 million, a PE ratio of 61.48 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 4.98, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $10.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.47.

Smith & Wesson Brands (NASDAQ:SWBI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $124.67 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $123.73 million. Smith & Wesson Brands had a return on equity of 2.34% and a net margin of 1.89%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.11 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Smith & Wesson Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 18th. Smith & Wesson Brands’s payout ratio is 273.68%.

Institutional Trading of Smith & Wesson Brands

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SWBI. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Smith & Wesson Brands in the third quarter valued at $965,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in Smith & Wesson Brands in the 2nd quarter worth $372,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Smith & Wesson Brands in the 2nd quarter worth $1,213,000. Lesa Sroufe & Co boosted its position in Smith & Wesson Brands by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Lesa Sroufe & Co now owns 81,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $705,000 after buying an additional 2,299 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keynote Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Smith & Wesson Brands during the second quarter valued at about $95,000. 59.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Smith & Wesson Brands

Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc is a leading American manufacturer of firearms and related products, designing, producing and marketing a broad array of handguns, long guns and shooting accessories. The company’s portfolio includes revolvers, semi-automatic pistols and rifles under well-known brands such as M&P® (Military & Police) and Performance Center®, which are used by military, law enforcement, commercial and private customers. In addition to complete firearms, Smith & Wesson offers suppressors, optics mounts, holsters and other shooting accessories to support a full spectrum of professional and recreational shooting activities.

Founded in 1852 by Horace Smith and Daniel B.