Johnson Outdoors (NASDAQ:JOUT) Sees Large Volume Increase – Still a Buy?

Johnson Outdoors Inc. (NASDAQ:JOUT) shares saw strong trading volume on Thursday . 101,559 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 62% from the previous session’s volume of 62,724 shares.The stock last traded at $49.68 and had previously closed at $49.52.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Johnson Outdoors from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Johnson Outdoors in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Johnson Outdoors from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson Outdoors presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Johnson Outdoors Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $47.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.93. The company has a market cap of $534.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.33, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.82.

Johnson Outdoors (NASDAQ:JOUT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 6th. The company reported ($0.33) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.45) by $0.12. Johnson Outdoors had a negative net margin of 3.56% and a positive return on equity of 0.83%. The business had revenue of $140.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $123.95 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Johnson Outdoors Inc. will post -0.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson Outdoors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 16th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Johnson Outdoors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -60.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Richard Casey Sheahan sold 7,580 shares of Johnson Outdoors stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.77, for a total transaction of $377,256.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $285,630.03. This trade represents a 56.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 28.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its stake in Johnson Outdoors by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 418,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,748,000 after acquiring an additional 17,700 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its stake in Johnson Outdoors by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 329,736 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,318,000 after acquiring an additional 1,434 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Johnson Outdoors by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 296,435 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,973,000 after acquiring an additional 15,345 shares during the last quarter. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP bought a new position in Johnson Outdoors during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $7,676,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Johnson Outdoors by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 185,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,510,000 after acquiring an additional 3,354 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.05% of the company’s stock.

About Johnson Outdoors

Johnson Outdoors Inc is a diversified outdoor recreation company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of gear and equipment for marine and land-based activities. The company operates through two primary segments: the Marine Electronics & Boat Group and the Outdoor Products Group. Its marine offerings include electric motors and anchors under the Minn Kota® brand, fish-finding and sonar systems under the Humminbird® brand, and a lineup of recreational watercraft under the Old Town® and Ocean Kayak® names.