Wall Street Zen Upgrades Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) to Strong-Buy

Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on COLM. Weiss Ratings upgraded Columbia Sportswear from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. BTIG Research upped their target price on Columbia Sportswear from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $67.00 target price on Columbia Sportswear and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird set a $65.00 target price on Columbia Sportswear in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $68.00 price target (up from $67.00) on shares of Columbia Sportswear in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.40.

Columbia Sportswear Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COLM opened at $70.43 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.45 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s 50-day moving average is $59.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.15. Columbia Sportswear has a 12-month low of $49.56 and a 12-month high of $72.63.

Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The textile maker reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $962.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $944.91 million. Columbia Sportswear had a net margin of 6.97% and a return on equity of 11.71%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Columbia Sportswear will post 3.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph P. Boyle sold 19,129 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.47, for a total transaction of $1,348,020.63. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 2,776,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $195,675,035.58. The trade was a 0.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lisa Kulok sold 6,857 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.47, for a total value of $469,498.79. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $560,084.60. The trade was a 45.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 26,361 shares of company stock valued at $1,844,073 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 51.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Columbia Sportswear during the second quarter worth about $152,164,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Columbia Sportswear by 15.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,222,770 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $121,824,000 after purchasing an additional 301,277 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Columbia Sportswear in the second quarter worth about $16,691,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Columbia Sportswear by 7.6% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 292,953 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $16,057,000 after buying an additional 20,797 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Columbia Sportswear in the second quarter valued at about $15,746,000. 47.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Columbia Sportswear Company Profile

Columbia Sportswear Company is an outdoor and active lifestyle apparel, footwear, accessories and equipment company headquartered in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1938 as the Columbia Hat Company, the business has grown into a global outdoor brand focused on products designed for activities such as hiking, skiing, fishing, camping and everyday outdoor use.

The company markets products under the Columbia, Sorel, Mountain Hardwear and prAna brands. Its offerings include jackets, shirts, pants, base layers, footwear, hats, gloves, backpacks and other outdoor accessories.