Malibu Boats (NASDAQ:MBUU) Raised to Hold at Zacks Research

Malibu Boats (NASDAQ:MBUU) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on MBUU. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Malibu Boats in a report on Monday. B. Riley lowered their target price on shares of Malibu Boats from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Malibu Boats from $30.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Loop Capital began coverage on shares of Malibu Boats in a report on Monday, December 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $34.00 price target on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Malibu Boats from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Malibu Boats currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.14.

Malibu Boats Stock Down 1.3%

MBUU opened at $28.57 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $549.40 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.15 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.63. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $28.51 and its 200 day moving average is $31.63. Malibu Boats has a fifty-two week low of $24.07 and a fifty-two week high of $42.49.

Malibu Boats (NASDAQ:MBUU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $194.73 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $182.09 million. Malibu Boats had a return on equity of 5.28% and a net margin of 2.31%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.08 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Malibu Boats will post 1.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Malibu Boats announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, December 19th that authorizes the company to repurchase $70.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 12.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Malibu Boats

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MBUU. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its stake in Malibu Boats by 51.2% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 12,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 4,194 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in Malibu Boats during the 3rd quarter valued at about $211,000. Dean Capital Management boosted its position in Malibu Boats by 107.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 100,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,254,000 after buying an additional 51,927 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Malibu Boats by 37.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 310,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,072,000 after acquiring an additional 84,146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Malibu Boats by 45.1% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 13,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $446,000 after acquiring an additional 4,269 shares during the period. 91.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Malibu Boats Company Profile

Malibu Boats, Inc is a leading designer, manufacturer and distributor of performance sport boats for the recreational boating market. The company’s product portfolio includes the premium Malibu® brand and the value-oriented Axis® Wake Research line, as well as Cobalt® boats following its 2020 acquisition. Malibu’s vessels are engineered to serve water-sports enthusiasts, with models optimized for wakeboarding, wakesurfing and waterskiing.

Founded in 1982 by water-sports enthusiast Jack Springer, Malibu Boats is headquartered in Loudon, Tennessee.