Johnson Outdoors (NASDAQ:JOUT) Cut to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Johnson Outdoors (NASDAQ:JOUT) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report released on Sunday.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Zacks Research raised Johnson Outdoors from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Johnson Outdoors in a report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Johnson Outdoors Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ JOUT opened at $49.93 on Friday. Johnson Outdoors has a one year low of $21.33 and a one year high of $51.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $519.77 million, a P/E ratio of -22.80, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.91. The company’s fifty day moving average is $45.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.19.

Johnson Outdoors (NASDAQ:JOUT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The company reported ($0.33) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.45) by $0.12. The business had revenue of $140.94 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $123.95 million. Johnson Outdoors had a negative net margin of 3.56% and a positive return on equity of 0.83%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson Outdoors will post -0.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson Outdoors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 8th were issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 8th. Johnson Outdoors’s dividend payout ratio is -60.27%.

Insider Activity at Johnson Outdoors

In related news, Director Edward F. Lang sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.94, for a total transaction of $87,880.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 32,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,413,593.74. This represents a 5.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 28.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson Outdoors by 74.4% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 100,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,250,000 after purchasing an additional 42,715 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP lifted its position in Johnson Outdoors by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 21,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $914,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake in Johnson Outdoors by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 7,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $330,000 after buying an additional 1,480 shares during the last quarter. State of Wisconsin Investment Board purchased a new stake in Johnson Outdoors in the 4th quarter valued at about $556,000. Finally, Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Johnson Outdoors in the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. 64.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.