Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) Shares Gap Up Following Strong Earnings

Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) gapped up prior to trading on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $79.01, but opened at $86.00. Columbia Sportswear shares last traded at $82.38, with a volume of 269,250 shares changing hands.

The textile maker reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.36. Columbia Sportswear had a net margin of 7.21% and a return on equity of 14.11%. The firm had revenue of $769.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $740.62 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.74 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Columbia Sportswear Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. Columbia Sportswear’s dividend payout ratio is 29.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on COLM. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Columbia Sportswear from $75.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Columbia Sportswear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Columbia Sportswear from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Stephen E. Babson sold 2,411 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.98, for a total value of $195,242.78. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 122,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,950,741.42. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Stephen E. Babson sold 2,411 shares of Columbia Sportswear stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.98, for a total value of $195,242.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 122,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,950,741.42. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ronald E. Nelson sold 5,768 shares of Columbia Sportswear stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.05, for a total value of $473,264.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,383,116.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 43.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Columbia Sportswear

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of COLM. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Columbia Sportswear by 9.2% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,352,622 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $322,530,000 after acquiring an additional 366,854 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,469,768 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $108,910,000 after acquiring an additional 173,291 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its stake in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,294,410 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $102,957,000 after buying an additional 305,592 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Columbia Sportswear by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,128,258 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $89,745,000 after acquiring an additional 104,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 515,735 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $41,022,000 after purchasing an additional 18,001 shares during the last quarter. 47.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Columbia Sportswear Stock Up 1.3 %

The firm has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a PE ratio of 19.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $78.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.92.

About Columbia Sportswear

Columbia Sportswear Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, markets, and distributes outdoor, active, and everyday lifestyle apparel, footwear, accessories, and equipment in the United States, Latin America, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Canada. The company provides apparel, accessories, and equipment for hiking, trail running, snow, fishing, hunting, mountaineering, climbing, skiing and snowboarding, trail, and outdoor activities.