What: Shares of outdoor gear specialist Columbia Sportswear Company (COLM 0.89%) were up 15% at 12:35 p.m. EST on Friday after its quarterly results and outlook topped Wall Street expectations.
So what: The stock has slumped in recent months on concerns that an unseasonably mild winter would weigh on results, but a strong fourth-quarter -- EPS of $0.90 on revenue of $699.4 million vs. the consensus of $0.75 and $684.6 million -- coupled with upbeat with full-year guidance suggests that those worries are overblown. In fact, the company even repurchased $55.5 million of its own stock during the quarter and approved its regular quarterly dividend of $0.17 per share, giving analysts plenty of good vibes over management's cash usage.
Now what: Management now sees full-year 2016 EPS of $2.55-$2.65 vs. the consensus of $2.54 on mid-single-digit sales growth. "As we enter 2016, we plan to focus on businesses where we believe we have strong competitive advantage to sustain long-term revenue growth," said President and CEO Jeffrey Niew. "We expect our leading position in microphones, intelligent audio and hearing health, combined with stable sales of precision devices will drive top-line growth and strong operating margins in the future." With the stock now up more than 30% from its 52-week lows and trading at a 20-plus forward P/E, however, I'd wait for some of the excitement to fade before buying into that optimism.
