AREX Capital Management LP Sells 31,500 Shares of Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPB)

AREX Capital Management LP lessened its holdings in Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPB) by 52.5% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 28,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 31,500 shares during the quarter. Spectrum Brands accounts for 2.8% of AREX Capital Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. AREX Capital Management LP’s holdings in Spectrum Brands were worth $2,449,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of SPB. LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in shares of Spectrum Brands by 68.9% in the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 745,680 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,373,000 after purchasing an additional 304,217 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Spectrum Brands during the 4th quarter valued at $20,652,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Spectrum Brands by 21.7% during the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 1,315,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,091,000 after acquiring an additional 234,784 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Spectrum Brands during the 1st quarter valued at $12,814,000. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Spectrum Brands by 217.7% during the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 165,594 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,740,000 after acquiring an additional 113,470 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SPB shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on Spectrum Brands from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on Spectrum Brands from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $114.00 price objective on shares of Spectrum Brands in a report on Friday, June 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Spectrum Brands from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Spectrum Brands from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.88.

Spectrum Brands Stock Performance

SPB stock opened at $93.53 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $88.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $87.27. Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.27 and a 1-year high of $96.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.28, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market cap of $2.62 billion, a PE ratio of 1.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.22.

Spectrum Brands (NYSE:SPB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.25). Spectrum Brands had a return on equity of 6.84% and a net margin of 3.86%. The business had revenue of $779.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $750.97 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.75 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. will post 4.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Spectrum Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 27th. Spectrum Brands’s payout ratio is 3.40%.

Spectrum Brands Profile

Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc operates as a branded consumer products and home essentials company in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific regions. It operates through three segments: Home and Personal Care; Global Pet Care; and Home and Garden. The Home and Personal Care segment provides home appliances under the Black & Decker, Russell Hobbs, George Foreman, PowerXL, Emeril Legasse, Copper Chef, Toastmaster, Juiceman, Farberware, and Breadman brands; and personal care products under the Remington brand.