Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) Reaches New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Columbia Sportswear Company (NASDAQ:COLM)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday. The stock traded as high as $72.92 and last traded at $72.8150, with a volume of 350,360 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $70.43.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on COLM. Wall Street Zen upgraded Columbia Sportswear from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Zacks Research cut Columbia Sportswear from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $67.00 target price on Columbia Sportswear and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $68.00 price target (up from $67.00) on shares of Columbia Sportswear in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Columbia Sportswear from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.40.

Columbia Sportswear Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a PE ratio of 15.98 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $59.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.15.

Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The textile maker reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $962.58 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $944.91 million. Columbia Sportswear had a net margin of 6.97% and a return on equity of 11.71%. The company’s revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Columbia Sportswear Company will post 3.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Sportswear Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Columbia Sportswear’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

Insider Transactions at Columbia Sportswear

In other news, insider Joseph P. Boyle sold 19,129 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.47, for a total transaction of $1,348,020.63. Following the sale, the insider owned 2,776,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $195,675,035.58. This trade represents a 0.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President Peter J. Bragdon sold 375 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.81, for a total value of $26,553.75. Following the sale, the president directly owned 28,950 shares in the company, valued at $2,049,949.50. This trade represents a 1.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 26,361 shares of company stock valued at $1,844,073. 51.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Columbia Sportswear

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Columbia Sportswear during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $152,164,000. Tassel Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Sportswear in the 2nd quarter valued at $10,085,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 15.7% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,222,770 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $121,824,000 after buying an additional 301,277 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Columbia Sportswear in the 2nd quarter valued at $16,691,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Columbia Sportswear in the 2nd quarter valued at $15,746,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.76% of the company’s stock.

About Columbia Sportswear

Columbia Sportswear Company designs, sources, markets and distributes outdoor and active-lifestyle apparel, footwear, accessories and equipment. Its products serve activities such as hiking, skiing, fishing and other outdoor pursuits, as well as everyday wear.

The company’s portfolio includes the Columbia, SOREL, Mountain Hardwear and prAna brands. Its offerings range from jackets, shirts and pants to boots, shoes, backpacks and other outdoor accessories.

Founded in 1938 as a hat distributor in Portland, Oregon, Columbia Sportswear has grown into a global business.