Johnson Outdoors (NASDAQ:JOUT) Issues Earnings Results

Johnson Outdoors (NASDAQ:JOUT) posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday. The company reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.74, Zacks reports. Johnson Outdoors had a positive return on equity of 2.52% and a negative net margin of 2.33%.The company had revenue of $189.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $186.19 million.

Here are the key takeaways from Johnson Outdoors’ conference call:

• Third-quarter sales increased 5%, while operating income rose to $18.3 million from $7.3 million a year earlier. Approximately $15 million of tariff refunds significantly contributed to the earnings improvement.
• The fishing and diving businesses showed solid momentum, supported by healthy demand for Minn Kota trolling motors and strong regulator and buoyancy-compensator sales at SCUBAPRO.
• The earnings benefit from tariff refunds is unlikely to repeat, and underlying third-quarter gross margin was modestly below the prior year due to higher raw-material and electronic-component costs.
• The camping and watercraft business faced a challenging quarter because of weak marketplace conditions, while inventory increased approximately $24.5 million year over year to $188.3 million.
• Johnson Outdoors remains debt-free, continues to pay a meaningful dividend, and reported year-to-date pretax profit of $32.2 million versus a $4.3 million loss in the prior-year period.

Johnson Outdoors Stock Performance

JOUT traded up $0.67 on Friday, reaching $48.22. 77,296 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 43,947. Johnson Outdoors has a twelve month low of $34.69 and a twelve month high of $53.54. The company’s 50 day moving average is $45.89 and its 200-day moving average is $46.94. The company has a market cap of $505.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -31.72, a PEG ratio of 4.53 and a beta of 0.81.

Johnson Outdoors Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 16th were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 16th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Johnson Outdoors’s payout ratio is presently -86.84%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson Outdoors

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in JOUT. Mariner LLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson Outdoors by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 5,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 669 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Johnson Outdoors by 21.5% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 9,117 shares of the company’s stock valued at $387,000 after purchasing an additional 1,612 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in Johnson Outdoors by 59.4% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 6,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 2,447 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in Johnson Outdoors by 46.0% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 6,289 shares of the company’s stock worth $254,000 after buying an additional 1,980 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Johnson Outdoors by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 11,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $345,000 after buying an additional 622 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.05% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on JOUT. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Johnson Outdoors in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Johnson Outdoors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Johnson Outdoors from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

Johnson Outdoors Company Profile

Johnson Outdoors Inc is a diversified outdoor recreation company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of gear and equipment for marine and land-based activities. The company operates through two primary segments: the Marine Electronics & Boat Group and the Outdoor Products Group. Its marine offerings include electric motors and anchors under the Minn Kota® brand, fish-finding and sonar systems under the Humminbird® brand, and a lineup of recreational watercraft under the Old Town® and Ocean Kayak® names.