Newell Brands (NASDAQ:NWL) Shares Down 4.3% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Newell Brands Inc. (NASDAQ:NWL) traded down 4.3% during trading on Tuesday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $7.75 to $4.75. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Newell Brands traded as low as $4.82 and last traded at $4.78. 1,037,097 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 6,599,211 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.99.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Newell Brands from $8.00 to $6.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Newell Brands from $9.50 to $9.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Newell Brands from $9.50 to $10.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Newell Brands from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Newell Brands from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $9.81.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Newell Brands

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NWL. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Newell Brands by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,992,076 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,761,000 after buying an additional 178,028 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in Newell Brands by 194.4% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 215,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,121,000 after acquiring an additional 142,361 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Newell Brands during the fourth quarter worth about $9,877,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Newell Brands by 751.9% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 100,251 shares of the company’s stock valued at $999,000 after purchasing an additional 88,483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Newell Brands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $434,000. 92.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Newell Brands Stock Performance

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 has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a PE ratio of -9.14, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $6.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.30.

Newell Brands (NASDAQ:NWL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.02. Newell Brands had a positive return on equity of 9.76% and a negative net margin of 2.85%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.22 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Newell Brands Inc. will post 0.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Newell Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.90%. Newell Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -53.85%.

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.