Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWBI) Short Interest Up 33.3% in December

Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWBI - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,200,000 shares, an increase of 33.3% from the November 30th total of 1,650,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 589,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days. Currently, 5.1% of the company's shares are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SWBI. Craig Hallum downgraded Smith & Wesson Brands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $18.00 to $13.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Lake Street Capital cut shares of Smith & Wesson Brands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $18.00 to $13.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Smith & Wesson Brands

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Smith & Wesson Brands by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 79,360 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,138,000 after purchasing an additional 655 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in Smith & Wesson Brands by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 80,650 shares of the company's stock worth $1,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,421 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Smith & Wesson Brands by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 29,249 shares of the company's stock worth $378,000 after acquiring an additional 1,598 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its stake in Smith & Wesson Brands by 14.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 16,250 shares of the company's stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Smith & Wesson Brands by 2,773.0% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,126 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 2,052 shares during the period. 59.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Smith & Wesson Brands Stock Down 0.9 %

SWBI stock traded down $0.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $9.94. 428,260 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 453,017. The company has a market capitalization of $437.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.70. Smith & Wesson Brands has a 12 month low of $9.78 and a 12 month high of $18.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 3.97.

Smith & Wesson Brands (NASDAQ:SWBI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($0.06). Smith & Wesson Brands had a return on equity of 8.78% and a net margin of 7.00%. The firm had revenue of $129.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $133.53 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.14 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Smith & Wesson Brands 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 will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 19th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.23%. Smith & Wesson Brands's payout ratio is 66.67%.

About Smith & Wesson Brands

Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells firearms worldwide. The company offers handguns, including revolvers and pistols; long guns, such as modern sporting rifles, bolt action rifles; handcuffs; suppressors; and other firearm-related products under the Smith & Wesson, M&P, and Gemtech brands.

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