It seems that the Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado has reduced its holdings in Columbia Sportswear by nearly a third over the fourth quarter, having sold 2,287 shares of the textile maker’s stock. The fund now owns only 5,118 shares worth $448,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period according to its latest Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Columbia Sportswear has had a bumpy ride in terms of their earnings reports. Their latest quarterly earnings results released on April 27th showed earnings per share (EPS) at $0.74 for Q1, which missed the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.14). Despite this slight disappointment, Columbia Sportswear had a net margin of 8.25% and a return on equity of 17.10%. In terms of revenue for the quarter, they had brought in $820.60 million compared to consensus estimates that put it at $799.71 million; an increase from last year’s figures by 7.8%.
However, this news did not stop analysts from dropping price targets for Columbia Sportswear’s shares recently, as Piper Sandler slashed prices from $92 to $90 in their research report last month and TheStreet gave them a lower rating from “b-” to “c+” just last week on June 1st.
StockNews.com initiated coverage on Columbia Sportswear last month with a “hold” rating and UBS Group also dropped their price target down to $92 from $96 back in March while remaining neutral on their overall rating.
Despite some turbulence in both investment holdings and analyst ratings, Bloomberg.com states that Columbia Sportswear currently holds an average rating of “Hold” among analysts with a consensus price target landing at just over $88 per share.
As we approach mid-2023 there still remains plenty to analyze and scrutinize regarding Columbia Sportswear and how they will fare in the coming months.
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Hedge Funds Increase Holdings in Columbia Sportswear
Columbia Sportswear, the iconic American sportswear brand, has recently seen a number of hedge funds and institutional investors make substantial changes to their holdings in the company. Ellevest Inc., for instance, grew its holdings in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 66.7% during Q4 of the previous year. Similarly, Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings by 110.3%, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted theirs by a whopping 1,084%, and Ronald Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings grew by almost 60% during the same period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC recently acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Sportswear valued at around $45,000.
Currently traded on NASDAQ under the symbol COLM at $76.99 per share, Columbia Sportswear’s value has had its ups and downs over the past year, ranging from a low of $65.02 to an all-time high of $98.32 per share. The company has a market cap value of $4.77 billion with an attractive P/E ratio of 16.49 and a beta of .95.
The company has also weathered somewhat mixed reviews from analysts over the past few months. Though five analysts have rated it as “hold”, two have recommended buying it with Bloomberg.com stating that Columbia Sportswear currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.13 per share.
In keeping with its commitment to providing value for shareholders, Columbia declared and paid out quarterly dividends yielding 1.56%. In related business news, Director Ronald E Nelson sold over 7k shares worth nearly half-a-million dollars at an average price per share of $76+. However, this stock sale doesn’t necessarily imply anything negative; insiders at major companies sometimes engage in insider trading as part of their long-term personal financial planning portfolios – they are highly regulated by the SEC.
In sum, while Columbia Sportswear has its share of ups and downs, it’s a well-established company with dedicated shareholders and an attractive current market value. Only time will tell where this iconic American brand will go next.