Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) Trading 2% Higher – Here’s Why

Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM)’s stock price rose 2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $69.33 and last traded at $68.52. Approximately 445,296 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 15% from the average daily volume of 523,030 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.19.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on COLM. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Columbia Sportswear from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com cut shares of Columbia Sportswear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th.

Columbia Sportswear Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.36.

Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The textile maker reported $1.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.86 by ($0.06). Columbia Sportswear had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 6.63%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Columbia Sportswear will post 4.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Sportswear Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. Columbia Sportswear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Richelle T. Luther sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.36, for a total value of $369,440.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,283 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,319,177.88. This trade represents a 21.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Ronald E. Nelson sold 6,395 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.74, for a total transaction of $522,727.30. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,393,503.52. The trade was a 27.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 44.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Columbia Sportswear

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 184.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 299 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Columbia Sportswear by 43.2% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 600 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Columbia Sportswear during the fourth quarter worth about $76,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 915 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 33.6% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 942 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. 47.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Columbia Sportswear Company Profile

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.