DELRAY BEACH, Florida – Golf industry stocks continue to receive late-year interest on Wall Street. Titleist/FootJoy parent Acushnet Company and Callaway Golf today each hit 52-week highs. The Acushnet Company traded as high as $41.17 before closing at $41.04; Callaway reached a high of $24.49 before it closed at $24.24.
The high-water marks could reflect a strong overall market, or that Wall Street is expecting a higher-than-normal fourth quarter from each company based on reports that the golf industry is bouncing back from the Covid-19 lockdown of this past spring and early summer. Rounds played and equipment sales in the third quarter, for example, each reached record levels, which has sparked optimism for the general health of the golf industry.
Whether or not those numbers simply represent pent-up demand from the lockdown or an actual upswing in the industry likely won’t be known until at least this time next year.
In addition to Acushnet and Callaway, Drive Shack stock also has experienced a steady increase this past month. The company’s stock price has risen from $1.09 this past Oct. 13 to today’s closing price of $3.08 per share – the first time since early this past June DS has traded above $3 per share. The company’s 52-week high of $4.16 was set this past Jan. 16.
Drive Shack executives have given no indications as to why the stock might be performing so well, but B. Riley Securities analyst Eric Wold came away impressed from a virtual chat held recently with Drive Shack’s top management.
“We came away from the day impressed with the team’s ability to both navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic, manage the balance sheet and cash flow, restart operations in a stronger position and increasingly position the company for accelerated growth after pivoting the focus over to The Puttery concept,” Wold said.
The Puttery concept is Drive Shack’s proposed move into the high-tech miniature golf market. The company has said it plans to open the first two Puttery venues next year in Dallas and Charlotte, N.C.
