ACCO Brands (NYSE:ACCO – Get Rating) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.
Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. BWS Financial downgraded ACCO Brands from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $9.00 to $6.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 14th. Barrington Research boosted their price target on ACCO Brands from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 22nd.
ACCO Brands Stock Up 15.6 %
Shares of ACCO traded up $0.69 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $5.11. The company had a trading volume of 972,526 shares, compared to its average volume of 568,591. ACCO Brands has a 52-week low of $4.27 and a 52-week high of $7.61. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $5.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $485.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -31.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.50.
ACCO Brands (NYSE:ACCO – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.04. ACCO Brands had a positive return on equity of 12.07% and a negative net margin of 0.68%. The company had revenue of $402.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $391.88 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.11 EPS. ACCO Brands’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that ACCO Brands will post 1.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Insider Activity
In other news, EVP Roxanne M. Bernstein bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $5.40 per share, for a total transaction of $27,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $135,000. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 7.30% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Trading of ACCO Brands
A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ACCO. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in ACCO Brands by 1.5% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,018,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,149,000 after purchasing an additional 14,925 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in ACCO Brands in the first quarter worth $363,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in ACCO Brands by 115.9% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 50,138 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 26,920 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in ACCO Brands by 215.8% in the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 91,057 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $728,000 after purchasing an additional 62,226 shares during the period. Finally, BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in ACCO Brands by 0.9% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 10,391,148 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $83,131,000 after purchasing an additional 92,697 shares during the period. 80.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
About ACCO Brands
ACCO Brands Corp. engages in the manufacture and marketing of office, school, calendar products, and select computer and electronic accessories. It operates through the followings segments: ACCO Brands North America, ACCO Brands EMEA, and ACCO Brands International. The ACCO Brands North America segment includes the U.S.