Johnson Outdoors (NASDAQ:JOUT) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.74 EPS

Johnson Outdoors (NASDAQ:JOUT) issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday. The company reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.74, Zacks reports. Johnson Outdoors had a positive return on equity of 2.52% and a negative net margin of 2.33%.The firm had revenue of $189.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.19 million.

Here are the key takeaways from Johnson Outdoors’ conference call:

• Third-quarter sales increased 5%, while operating income rose to $18.3 million from $7.3 million a year earlier. Approximately $15 million of tariff refunds significantly contributed to the earnings improvement.
• The fishing and diving businesses showed solid momentum, supported by healthy demand for Minn Kota trolling motors and strong regulator and buoyancy-compensator sales at SCUBAPRO.
• The earnings benefit from tariff refunds is unlikely to repeat, and underlying third-quarter gross margin was modestly below the prior year due to higher raw-material and electronic-component costs.
• The camping and watercraft business faced a challenging quarter because of weak marketplace conditions, while inventory increased approximately $24.5 million year over year to $188.3 million.
• Johnson Outdoors remains debt-free, continues to pay a meaningful dividend, and reported year-to-date pretax profit of $32.2 million versus a $4.3 million loss in the prior-year period.

Johnson Outdoors Trading Up 1.4%

NASDAQ JOUT traded up $0.67 on Friday, hitting $48.22. 77,296 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 43,947. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $45.89 and a 200 day moving average of $46.94. Johnson Outdoors has a twelve month low of $34.69 and a twelve month high of $53.54. The company has a market capitalization of $505.35 million, a P/E ratio of -31.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.53 and a beta of 0.81.

Johnson Outdoors Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 16th were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 16th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Johnson Outdoors’s dividend payout ratio is presently -86.84%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson Outdoors

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Corient Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson Outdoors in the second quarter worth $1,528,000. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson Outdoors by 429.5% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 56,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,268,000 after acquiring an additional 45,552 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 42,715 shares during the last quarter. CSM Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Johnson Outdoors by 42.0% during the fourth quarter. CSM Advisors LLC now owns 126,885 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,387,000 after acquiring an additional 37,520 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Johnson Outdoors by 92.1% in the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 68,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,893,000 after acquiring an additional 32,668 shares during the period. 64.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on JOUT shares. Zacks Research lowered Johnson Outdoors from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Johnson Outdoors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Johnson Outdoors in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

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.