Columbus McKinnon (NASDAQ:CMCO) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Columbus McKinnon (NASDAQ:CMCO) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Saturday.

CMCO has been the subject of a number of other reports. CJS Securities raised shares of Columbus McKinnon to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Columbus McKinnon from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. DA Davidson set a $20.00 price target on shares of Columbus McKinnon in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Columbus McKinnon from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Columbus McKinnon currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.50.

Columbus McKinnon Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CMCO opened at $14.65 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $19.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.16. The company has a market cap of $421.04 million, a P/E ratio of 69.76 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Columbus McKinnon has a 12 month low of $11.78 and a 12 month high of $24.40.

Columbus McKinnon (NASDAQ:CMCO) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The industrial products company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.01. Columbus McKinnon had a net margin of 0.60% and a return on equity of 7.41%. The business had revenue of $258.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $241.60 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.56 earnings per share. Columbus McKinnon’s revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Columbus McKinnon will post 2.69 EPS for the current year.

Columbus McKinnon Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. Columbus McKinnon’s dividend payout ratio is 133.33%.

Insider Transactions at Columbus McKinnon

In related news, insider Jon Adams sold 5,185 shares of Columbus McKinnon stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.28, for a total value of $120,706.80. Following the sale, the insider owned 9,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $218,040.48. This trade represents a 35.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Columbus McKinnon

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CMCO. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Columbus McKinnon by 698.6% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 726,772 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,422,000 after acquiring an additional 635,770 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Columbus McKinnon during the third quarter worth approximately $8,040,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Columbus McKinnon by 76.8% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,108,462 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $19,121,000 after buying an additional 481,470 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Columbus McKinnon by 100.2% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 829,875 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,900,000 after purchasing an additional 415,275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Columbus McKinnon by 80.3% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 850,951 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,203,000 after buying an additional 379,096 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.96% of the company’s stock.

About Columbus McKinnon

Columbus McKinnon Corporation is a global designer, manufacturer and marketer of material handling systems and solutions. The company’s product portfolio spans electric and manual hoists, motorized and manual chain and wire rope hoists, end-of-arm tooling, rigging hardware, trolleys and controls. Through its brands, Columbus McKinnon serves customers across a wide range of end markets including manufacturing, warehousing, construction, and energy, providing equipment for lifting, positioning and flow control applications.

With a focus on safety and productivity, Columbus McKinnon integrates advanced technologies such as automation controls, digital load monitoring and Internet-of-Things connectivity into its hoist and crane systems.