Johnson Outdoors (NASDAQ:JOUT) Sets New 1-Year High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Johnson Outdoors (JOUT) hit a new 52-week high
• Analyst sentiment is weak — MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of "Reduce" after recent downgrades (Wall Street Zen to Buy from Strong-Buy, Zacks to Hold, Weiss at Sell).
• The company beat its most recent quarter estimates (EPS -$0.33 vs. -$0.45 expected; revenue $140.94M vs. $123.95M) but remains unprofitable and carries a negative PE, and it declared a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share (2.5% yield; ex-dividend Apr 16).

Johnson Outdoors Inc. (NASDAQ:JOUT - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $53.01 and last traded at $51.86, with a volume of 74912 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $52.39.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on JOUT. Wall Street Zen lowered Johnson Outdoors from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, February 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Johnson Outdoors in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Johnson Outdoors from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce".

Johnson Outdoors Trading Down 1.0%

The company has a market cap of $539.81 million, a PE ratio of -23.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.82. The firm's fifty day moving average is $47.86 and its 200 day moving average is $44.33.

Johnson Outdoors (NASDAQ:JOUT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The company reported ($0.33) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.45) by $0.12. The business had revenue of $140.94 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $123.95 million. Johnson Outdoors had a negative net margin of 3.56% and a positive return on equity of 0.83%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 16th. Johnson Outdoors's payout ratio is -60.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson Outdoors news, Director Richard Casey Sheahan sold 7,580 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.77, for a total transaction of $377,256.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 5,739 shares in the company, valued at approximately $285,630.03. The trade was a 56.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 28.21% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Johnson Outdoors

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in JOUT. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its holdings in shares of Johnson Outdoors by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 418,100 shares of the company's stock worth $17,748,000 after buying an additional 17,700 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew 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 valued at $13,318,000 after acquiring an additional 1,434 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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 valued at $11,973,000 after acquiring an additional 15,345 shares in the last quarter. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Johnson Outdoors during the 3rd quarter valued at about $7,676,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew 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 valued at $7,510,000 after acquiring an additional 3,354 shares in the last quarter. 64.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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