Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,970,000 shares, a decline of 6.6% from the September 15th total of 3,180,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 404,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.3 days. Currently, 9.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Columbia Sportswear Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COLM traded up $1.23 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $82.89. 269,055 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 455,820. The company’s 50-day moving average is $81.38 and its 200-day moving average is $80.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.11, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.92. Columbia Sportswear has a 52-week low of $66.01 and a 52-week high of $87.23.

Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The textile maker reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.34) by $0.14. Columbia Sportswear had a return on equity of 13.01% and a net margin of 6.72%. The company had revenue of $570.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $569.37 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.14 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Columbia Sportswear will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Sportswear Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Columbia Sportswear’s payout ratio is 29.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on COLM shares. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Columbia Sportswear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $84.00 to $92.00 in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Columbia Sportswear in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Columbia Sportswear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Columbia Sportswear

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 116.6% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 418 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Columbia Sportswear by 51.3% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 419 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Columbia Sportswear by 174.8% during the 1st quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 599 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Sportswear during the 1st quarter worth about $64,000. Finally, Dnca Finance purchased a new position in shares of Columbia Sportswear in the 2nd quarter valued at about $68,000. 47.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.