Smith & Wesson Brands (NASDAQ:SWBI) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Smith & Wesson Brands (NASDAQ:SWBI) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Sunday morning.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on SWBI. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Smith & Wesson Brands in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Lake Street Capital raised their target price on Smith & Wesson Brands from $11.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.00.

Smith & Wesson Brands Stock Performance

Shares of SWBI opened at $13.99 on Friday. Smith & Wesson Brands has a one year low of $7.73 and a one year high of $13.99. The company has a 50-day moving average of $11.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.04. The stock has a market cap of $622.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.83 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 4.50 and a quick ratio of 1.48.

Smith & Wesson Brands (NASDAQ:SWBI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $135.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $125.59 million. Smith & Wesson Brands had a net margin of 2.24% and a return on equity of 3.07%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.02 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Smith & Wesson Brands will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Smith & Wesson Brands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $153,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Smith & Wesson Brands by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 137,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,352,000 after acquiring an additional 2,983 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in Smith & Wesson Brands by 49.3% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 29,793 shares of the company’s stock worth $294,000 after acquiring an additional 9,835 shares during the last quarter. Oxford Asset Management LLP bought a new stake in Smith & Wesson Brands during the fourth quarter valued at about $140,000. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new stake in shares of Smith & Wesson Brands in the fourth quarter valued at about $439,000. Institutional investors own 59.33% of the company’s stock.

Key Smith & Wesson Brands News

Here are the key news stories impacting Smith & Wesson Brands this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 results beat estimates — Smith & Wesson reported EPS of $0.08 vs. consensus $0.05 and revenue of $135.7M vs. $125.6M, with net sales up 17.1% year-over-year; this topline and EPS beat is the primary catalyst for the stock move. Smith & Wesson Q3 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Raise to fiscal Q4 revenue guidance — management updated Q4 revenue guidance to roughly $154.9M–$157.7M versus a consensus of ~$142.2M, signaling better-than-expected near-term demand. Earnings Transcript / Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade — Lake Street Capital raised its price target from $11 to $14 and set a Buy rating, providing incremental buy-side validation. Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings call / transcripts are available for details on product demand, margin outlook and working-capital commentary — useful for drilling into sustainability of the sales beat. Seeking Alpha Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Press and coverage pieces explain the share move and investor reaction; read for additional color on market response. MSN Coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and margin context — the stock trades at a high P/E (~73.6) while reported net margin is modest (~1.9%); investors should weigh elevated valuation vs. growth and guidance. No link

Smith & Wesson Brands Company Profile

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.