Opinion & Analysis

Acushnet IPO off to an underwhelming start

Published

10 years ago

Oct 29, 2016

Acushnet (GOLF), the umbrella company for Titliest, opened on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday at $17 per share, below the originally expected price range of $21-24.

On Friday, GOLF hovered between $16.90 and $18, ultimately closing at $17.95 on the day. The IPO was for 19.3 million shares, raising $329 million for Acushnet’s existing investors.

CNN Money compared the stock’s small percentage gains to, very fittingly, the sport of golf: “It’s like finally hitting a shot onto the green — after you’ve already plunked your ball in a water hazard a few times.”

The Boston Globe piled on, saying Acushnet “made a bogey in its debut.”

After a proverbial bogey on the first hole, Acushnet’s leadership is looking toward the future; the next 17 holes, if you will.

“I don’t get caught up in the day to day,” Acushnet CEO Wally Uihlein told the Boston Globe. “I’m looking long-term. Over time, we have a very strong track record of delivering the kind of financial results that we think make an attractive investment opportunity.”

Acushnet is owned by Fila Korea Ltd., which purchased the company from Fortune Brands in 2011. Acushnet registered $1.5 billion in sales during a 12-month period ending this past June.

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9 Comments

JustTrying2BAwesome

Oct 31, 2016 at 6:39 pm

I’m buying 1 share. Karma to the golf gods praying I can make a hole in one someday. Someday…

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King of Carlsbad

Oct 31, 2016 at 12:12 pm

Acushnet does not sell a lot of golf clubs now (380 million/yr) and is unlikely to sell a lot more in the future, so it will be interesting if the Pro V1 and FJ shoes can keep this stock afloat.

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Large chris

Oct 31, 2016 at 10:39 am

I lolled at Wally Uilein reckoning he’s not caught up in the day to day. Hahahahaha he’s obviously not had to do many investor conference calls. They’ll want his numbers am and pm.
Corporate investors won’t put up with that, I give him 3 months tops.

Reply Report comment
Nolanski

Oct 31, 2016 at 7:12 am

Inflation is very low right now

Reply Report comment
- Steve S
  
  Nov 1, 2016 at 8:42 am
  
  Bubba, 20%!!?? Really? Where do you live? Since I track such things with my financial programs my personal findings (in the mid west over last year) are as follows:
  
  1. Food we buy from the supermarket is almost even from last year (up .1%)
  2. Housing costs up about 4% (utilities, taxes, mortgage didn’t change)
  3. Gasoline for car down 15%
  4. Healthcare up about 4% (insurance premiums)
  
  Buying a house would be up because prices were in the toilet for so long; they would naturally be up after hitting 15 year lows.
  
  Reply Report comment
John M.P. thirty-three

Oct 29, 2016 at 1:04 pm

If the asset was a cash cow why would Fila shed it?
…rough times ahead for shareholder s.

Reply Report comment
Philip

Oct 29, 2016 at 11:47 am

Not failing at the moment, but now that they have shareholders on board the fall will slowly begin. Shareholders do not care one bit (the bigger ones at least) about the company – they care about their investment “share price” and want it to grow. In a flatlined industry with no star stepping up for likely quite a while they have two options to grow share price – increase price and decrease quality … I suspect prices are near the max now for what the larger public can afford so reducing quality will likely be next – let the tumble begin.

Reply Report comment
J.R.

Oct 29, 2016 at 10:05 am

why would one invest in a failing company–or one that is at best on it’s way downhill instead of uphill!!

Reply Report comment
- Steve S
  
  Nov 1, 2016 at 8:44 am
  
  Good question, J.R. If there were something available to buy that would allow you to “long term”(1 year or more) short this stock I’d buy a bunch of shorts. It’ll be $10-12 range in a year.
  
  Reply Report comment

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Opinion & Analysis

AVL: My U.S. Amateur local qualifying experience

Published

5 days ago

Jun 5, 2026

Andrew Von Lossow

This past Monday, I played in the U.S. Amateur local qualifier at Rock Creek Country Club in Portland, Oregon. A full tee sheet from 7:30 a.m. to 1:55 p.m., the top 11 scores would make it to the U.S. Amateur final qualifying.

I teed off at 10:48 a.m.. With the 7:30 am tee time, you can get a feel for the leaders’ pace, and they were off and running on the challenging setup at Rock Creek.

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Getting to the highlight of the round on the par five 17th, a drive up the left side and 212 yards left to the front hole location. I took out a 5-iron with plans of middle of the green. The ball ended up 8 feet left of the hole, pin high. A slight downhill putt dropped in for an eagle 3 on the 17th. With the cut line looking to be anywhere from -2 to even par. This was the boost I had been waiting for all day.

With making par from the trees on 18, it was time to wait for a potential playoff with a posted score of one under par 71.

Three hours later, it was playoff time. 8 players for 6 spots. I made par on the playoff hole, which was good enough to advance to the U.S. Amateur final qualifying in July. USGA qualifiers sure deliver on all of the emotions in golf!

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6 days ago

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Tour Edge Exotics mini driver review + TaylorMade Spider ZT Max first look – Club Junkie

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2 weeks ago

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On this episode of Club Junkie, I put the new Tour Edge Exotics Mini Driver to the test and break down the performance, forgiveness, distance, and where it fits compared to a traditional driver or strong fairway wood. If you have been curious about adding a mini driver to the bag, this one is worth a look.

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