Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) Short Interest Update

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COLM has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Columbia Sportswear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Columbia Sportswear from $75.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.75.

Insider Activity at Columbia Sportswear

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Columbia Sportswear

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in COLM. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 22,811 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,690,000 after purchasing an additional 2,209 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 8,658 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $642,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 30.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC now owns 4,535 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its position in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 4,872 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 34,922 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $2,588,000 after purchasing an additional 824 shares in the last quarter. 47.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Columbia Sportswear Price Performance

NASDAQ COLM traded up $0.54 on Tuesday, reaching $79.63. The company had a trading volume of 677,525 shares, compared to its average volume of 522,785. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a PE ratio of 19.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.94. Columbia Sportswear has a 1 year low of $66.01 and a 1 year high of $86.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $78.76 and a 200-day moving average of $78.15.

Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The textile maker reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $769.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $740.62 million. Columbia Sportswear had a return on equity of 13.98% and a net margin of 7.20%. Columbia Sportswear’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Columbia Sportswear will post 3.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Sportswear Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Columbia Sportswear’s payout ratio is 29.27%.

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.