Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,320,000 shares, a growth of 26.2% from the March 31st total of 2,630,000 shares. Approximately 9.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 526,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.3 days.

Columbia Sportswear Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COLM traded up $0.99 during trading on Friday, reaching $80.00. The company had a trading volume of 1,713,696 shares, compared to its average volume of 471,881. Columbia Sportswear has a 52 week low of $66.01 and a 52 week high of $88.17. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $78.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.04. The stock has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a PE ratio of 19.51, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.94.

Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. 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 firm had revenue of $769.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $740.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. Columbia Sportswear’s revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Columbia Sportswear will post 3.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Sportswear Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. Columbia Sportswear’s dividend payout ratio is 29.27%.

Insider Activity at Columbia Sportswear

In other Columbia Sportswear news, Director Stephen E. Babson sold 2,411 shares of Columbia Sportswear stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.98, for a total value of $195,242.78. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 122,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,950,741.42. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Columbia Sportswear news, Director Stephen E. Babson sold 2,411 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $9,950,741.42. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $473,264.40. Following the transaction, 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Columbia Sportswear

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 44.9% in the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 7,891 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $641,000 after purchasing an additional 2,446 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in Columbia Sportswear by 2.1% in the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 9,900 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $804,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA boosted its stake in Columbia Sportswear by 4.0% in the first quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA now owns 141,853 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $11,516,000 after acquiring an additional 5,444 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its position in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 8,474 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $688,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Columbia Sportswear during the 1st quarter valued at $64,000. 47.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on COLM shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price 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 cut Columbia Sportswear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Columbia Sportswear from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.60.

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.