Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. 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 trading hands.

The textile maker reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.36. Columbia Sportswear had a net margin of 7.20% and a return on equity of 13.99%. The company had revenue of $769.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $740.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. Columbia Sportswear’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Columbia Sportswear Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors 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%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Columbia Sportswear’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on COLM shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Columbia Sportswear from $75.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Columbia Sportswear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Columbia Sportswear from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.60.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Columbia Sportswear

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Columbia Sportswear by 76.2% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 451 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. TFO Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Columbia Sportswear by 11,725.0% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 473 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Columbia Sportswear by 44.3% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 502 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Columbia Sportswear by 125.7% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 607 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in Columbia Sportswear by 79.6% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 616 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. 47.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Columbia Sportswear Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $78.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.99.

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.