Vista Investment Partners LLC Takes Position in Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR)

Vista Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 15,849 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $553,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Energizer by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 931,571 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,587,000 after acquiring an additional 19,836 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Energizer in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $584,000. Seizert Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Energizer by 29.0% in the 3rd quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 181,773 shares of the company's stock worth $5,773,000 after buying an additional 40,891 shares during the last quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Energizer by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,775,177 shares of the company's stock valued at $151,660,000 after buying an additional 533,831 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. raised its stake in Energizer by 126.7% during the second quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 59,878 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,769,000 after buying an additional 33,467 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.74% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Sara B. Hampton sold 2,812 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.49, for a total value of $108,233.88. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,635 shares of the company's stock, valued at $178,401.15. This represents a 37.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robin Vauth sold 1,978 shares of Energizer stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.97, for a total transaction of $71,148.66. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,115.26. This trade represents a 25.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,860 shares of company stock valued at $334,694 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.98% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ENR. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Energizer from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays cut shares of Energizer from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $34.00 to $36.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Energizer from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Energizer from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Energizer from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Energizer currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $38.38.

Energizer Stock Performance

Energizer stock traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $34.37. 419,067 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 431,676. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a PE ratio of 66.10 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.51, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The business's 50-day moving average is $36.24 and its 200-day moving average is $32.89. Energizer Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.92 and a 12-month high of $39.51.

Energizer Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.49%. Energizer's dividend payout ratio is presently 230.77%.

About Energizer

Energizer Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and distributes household batteries, specialty batteries, and lighting products worldwide. It offers lithium, alkaline, carbon zinc, nickel metal hydride, zinc air, and silver oxide batteries under the Energizer, Eveready, and Rayovac brands; primary, rechargeable, specialty, and hearing aid batteries; and handheld, headlights, lanterns, and area lights, as well as flashlights under the Hard Case, Dolphin, and WeatherReady brands.