Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) shares reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $92.88 and last traded at $91.00, with a volume of 1333038 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $91.79.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Columbia Sportswear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Columbia Sportswear from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Columbia Sportswear from $70.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th.

Columbia Sportswear Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $85.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.78. The firm has a market cap of $4.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.93.

Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The textile maker reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts forecast that Columbia Sportswear will post 4.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Sportswear Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Columbia Sportswear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Columbia Sportswear

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of COLM. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 68.7% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 705 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Sportswear in the third quarter valued at about $7,676,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 75.8% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,623 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $468,000 after acquiring an additional 2,425 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 39.6% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 259,406 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $21,580,000 after acquiring an additional 73,602 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its stake in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 1.6% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 32,287 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $2,686,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. 47.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.