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

Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWBI - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,920,000 shares, an increase of 23.9% from the February 28th total of 1,550,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 506,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days. Approximately 4.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SWBI has been the subject of several research reports. Lake Street Capital cut their target price on Smith & Wesson Brands from $13.00 to $12.50 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Craig Hallum cut shares of Smith & Wesson Brands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $13.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th.

Institutional Trading of Smith & Wesson Brands

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SWBI. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Smith & Wesson Brands by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,063,973 shares of the company's stock worth $30,960,000 after acquiring an additional 104,128 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Smith & Wesson Brands by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,067,955 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,865,000 after acquiring an additional 7,260 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Smith & Wesson Brands by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 525,374 shares of the company's stock worth $5,309,000 after acquiring an additional 80,235 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Smith & Wesson Brands by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 415,205 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,196,000 after purchasing an additional 21,362 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Smith & Wesson Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,049,000. 59.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Smith & Wesson Brands Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of SWBI stock traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $9.50. 385,267 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 465,850. The company's 50 day moving average is $10.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.52. The company has a current ratio of 3.97, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $418.03 million, a PE ratio of 12.18 and a beta of 1.09. Smith & Wesson Brands has a 1 year low of $9.17 and a 1 year high of $17.99.

Smith & Wesson Brands (NASDAQ:SWBI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.02. The business had revenue of $115.89 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $119.46 million. Smith & Wesson Brands had a return on equity of 8.78% and a net margin of 7.00%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Smith & Wesson Brands will post 0.47 EPS for the current year.

Smith & Wesson Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.47%. Smith & Wesson Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.00%.

Smith & Wesson Brands Company Profile

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.