Newell Brands (NASDAQ:NWL) Stock Price Up 8.5% After Earnings Beat

Shares of Newell Brands Inc. (NASDAQ:NWL) shot up 8.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $5.25 and last traded at $5.19. 3,950,085 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 42% from the average session volume of 6,809,745 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.78.

The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.06. Newell Brands had a negative net margin of 2.85% and a positive return on equity of 9.76%. The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. The firm’s revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Newell Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.42%. Newell Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -53.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on NWL. Barclays raised their price target on Newell Brands from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Newell Brands from $5.50 to $5.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Newell Brands from $6.00 to $5.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on shares of Newell Brands from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $9.00 target price on shares of Newell Brands in a research report on Monday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.64.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NWL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Newell Brands by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,892,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $467,053,000 after buying an additional 1,974,823 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Newell Brands by 21.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 18,089,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $180,172,000 after purchasing an additional 3,188,718 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Newell Brands by 233.6% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,527,609 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,695,000 after purchasing an additional 10,172,696 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Newell Brands by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 12,760,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,091,000 after purchasing an additional 1,363,913 shares during the period. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Newell Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $72,431,000. 92.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Newell Brands Stock Up 8.2 %

The company has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.94, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.06.

About Newell Brands

Newell Brands Inc engages in the design, manufacture, sourcing, and distribution of consumer and commercial products worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Home and Commercial Solutions, Learning and Development, and Outdoor and Recreation. The Commercial Solutions segment provides commercial cleaning and maintenance solution products under the Rubbermaid, Rubbermaid Commercial Products, Mapa, and Spontex brands; closet and garage organization products; hygiene systems and material handling solutions; household products, such as kitchen appliances under the Crockpot, Mr.