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

Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,610,000 shares, an increase of 8.1% from the October 15th total of 3,340,000 shares. Currently, 11.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 394,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 9.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Columbia Sportswear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Columbia Sportswear

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 0.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,170,400 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $257,373,000 after purchasing an additional 21,104 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new position in Columbia Sportswear in the first quarter worth $3,806,000. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in Columbia Sportswear in the first quarter worth $845,000. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its holdings in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 79.2% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 90,515 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $7,530,000 after purchasing an additional 40,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Columbia Sportswear in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $7,676,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.76% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Sportswear Price Performance

Shares of COLM stock traded down $1.18 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $82.43. The stock had a trading volume of 547,994 shares, compared to its average volume of 465,315. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $81.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.24. The firm has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a PE ratio of 22.77, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.92. Columbia Sportswear has a fifty-two week low of $73.04 and a fifty-two week high of $87.23.

Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The textile maker reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $931.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $937.17 million. Columbia Sportswear had a net margin of 6.42% and a return on equity of 12.48%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.70 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Columbia Sportswear will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Sportswear Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Columbia Sportswear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.15%.

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.