Columbus McKinnon (NASDAQ:CMCO) Cut to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

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

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

Columbus McKinnon Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of Columbus McKinnon stock opened at $14.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.15. Columbus McKinnon has a 1 year low of $11.78 and a 1 year high of $24.40. The company has a market capitalization of $428.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.05 and a beta of 1.32.

Columbus McKinnon (NASDAQ:CMCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The industrial products company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $258.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $241.60 million. Columbus McKinnon had a net margin of 0.60% and a return on equity of 7.41%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.56 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Columbus McKinnon will post 2.69 EPS for the current year.

Columbus McKinnon Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st will be paid a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 1st. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Columbus McKinnon’s dividend payout ratio is 133.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jon Adams sold 5,185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.28, for a total transaction of $120,706.80. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $218,040.48. This trade represents a 35.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Columbus McKinnon by 698.6% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 726,772 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,422,000 after buying an additional 635,770 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Columbus McKinnon during the third quarter worth approximately $8,040,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in 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 increased its stake in Columbus McKinnon by 100.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 415,275 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Columbus McKinnon by 80.3% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 850,951 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,203,000 after acquiring an additional 379,096 shares in the last quarter. 95.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Columbus McKinnon

Here are the key news stories impacting Columbus McKinnon this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.07/share (announced Mar 23); modest yield (~1.8%) and upcoming May payment can support income-focused demand and reduce selling pressure from income investors. Columbus McKinnon Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.07 per Share
• Positive Sentiment: Recent press coverage highlights Columbus McKinnon as delivering some of the “strongest Q4 results” in the industrial machinery group (revenue growth and a modest EPS beat reported earlier), which supports the bullish narrative on near-term fundamentals. Columbus McKinnon (NASDAQ:CMCO): Strongest Q4 results from the general industrial machinery group
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader media mentions (stocks trading up roundups) may add short-term attention and volume but are not company-specific catalysts beyond amplifying the dividend/earnings headlines. Columbus McKinnon, WillScot Mobile Mini… stocks trade up
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple short-interest reports dated Mar 23–24 show a “large increase” in short interest but list 0 shares and NaN changes with a 0.0 days-to-cover — this appears to be a data/reporting error. If accurate, zero short interest would be bullish (no immediate short squeeze risk), but given the inconsistent numbers treat these entries as unreliable until exchanges/registrars confirm.

Columbus McKinnon Company Profile

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.