Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) Short Interest Down 17.3% in March

Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,020,000 shares, a drop of 17.3% from the March 15th total of 3,650,000 shares. Currently, 11.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 809,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Columbia Sportswear Stock Performance

COLM stock opened at $65.52 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.91. Columbia Sportswear has a 1 year low of $59.07 and a 1 year high of $92.88. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.86.

Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM - Get Free Report) last issued 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Columbia Sportswear will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Sportswear Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Columbia Sportswear's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COLM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Columbia Sportswear from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Columbia Sportswear from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Columbia Sportswear from $100.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $68.00 price objective (down from $80.00) on shares of Columbia Sportswear in a research note on Monday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Columbia Sportswear presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $74.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Columbia Sportswear news, EVP Richelle T. Luther sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.36, for a total value 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 approximately $1,319,177.88. The trade was a 21.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ronald E. Nelson sold 6,395 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.74, for a total value of $522,727.30. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,048 shares in the company, valued at $1,393,503.52. This trade represents a 27.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 44.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 564,422 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $47,372,000 after acquiring an additional 13,800 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Columbia Sportswear in the 4th quarter worth about $1,904,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Sportswear in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,472,000. Truist Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 143.6% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 11,907 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $999,000 after buying an additional 7,019 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Columbia Sportswear during the fourth quarter worth about $296,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.76% of the company's stock.

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.

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