Vera Bradley (NASDAQ:VRA) Rating Lowered to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Vera Bradley (NASDAQ:VRA) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Sunday morning.

Vera Bradley Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of VRA stock opened at $6.81 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $209.68 million, a P/E ratio of 27.24 and a beta of 1.89. Vera Bradley has a 52 week low of $4.60 and a 52 week high of $8.35. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $6.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.24.

Vera Bradley (NASDAQ:VRA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The textile maker reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $133.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $136.06 million. Vera Bradley had a return on equity of 6.69% and a net margin of 1.66%. On average, analysts anticipate that Vera Bradley will post 0.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vera Bradley

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRA. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in Vera Bradley by 42.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 73,850 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $488,000 after purchasing an additional 21,937 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Vera Bradley by 53.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 194,830 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,288,000 after purchasing an additional 68,199 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio grew its stake in Vera Bradley by 38.6% in the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 78,700 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $520,000 after acquiring an additional 21,900 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in Vera Bradley in the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Vera Bradley in the 3rd quarter worth about $83,000. 59.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Vera Bradley

Vera Bradley, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells women's handbags, luggage and travel items, fashion and home accessories, and gifts. It operates through three segments: Vera Bradley Direct, Vera Bradley Indirect, and Pura Vida. The company offers bag products, such as totes, crossbodies, satchels, clutches, backpacks, baby bags, and lunch bags; accessories, including ID holders, lanyards, wallets, wristlets, eyewear, scarves, hair accessories, and various technology accessories; bracelets, rings, and necklaces under Pura Vida brand name; and travel products consisting of rolling luggage, cosmetics, and travel and packing accessories, as well as travel bags comprising duffel and weekend bags.