Head to Head Review: Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) versus Vera Bradley (NASDAQ:VRA)

Vera Bradley (NASDAQ:VRA) and Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership and profitability.

Risk and Volatility

Vera Bradley has a beta of 1.5, meaning that its stock price is 50% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Columbia Sportswear has a beta of 0.93, meaning that its stock price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Vera Bradley and Columbia Sportswear”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Vera Bradley	$269.65 million	0.54	-$47.84 million	($0.37)	-13.73
Columbia Sportswear	$3.40 billion	0.85	$177.22 million	$3.85	14.74

Columbia Sportswear has higher revenue and earnings than Vera Bradley. Vera Bradley is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Columbia Sportswear, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Vera Bradley and Columbia Sportswear, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Vera Bradley	1	0	0	1	2.50
Columbia Sportswear	1	3	2	0	2.17

Columbia Sportswear has a consensus target price of $65.40, indicating a potential upside of 15.22%. Given Columbia Sportswear’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Columbia Sportswear is more favorable than Vera Bradley.

Profitability

This table compares Vera Bradley and Columbia Sportswear’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Vera Bradley	-3.66%	-3.80%	-2.11%
Columbia Sportswear	6.05%	11.20%	6.67%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

59.9% of Vera Bradley shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 47.8% of Columbia Sportswear shares are owned by institutional investors. 14.3% of Vera Bradley shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 51.9% of Columbia Sportswear shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Columbia Sportswear beats Vera Bradley on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

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 consist of rolling luggage, cosmetics, and travel and packing accessories, as well as travel bags comprising duffel and weekend bags. It also provides home products that include throw blankets, beach towels, and comforters, as well as items, such as mugs and tumblers; apparel/footwear comprising sleepwear, footwear, outerwear, tees and hoodies, and socks; and stationery and merchandising products, as well as freight, licensing, and gift card breakage services. The company sells its Vera Bradley branded products through its full-line and outlet stores in the United States; verabradley.com, an online outlet site; its annual outlet sale in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It sells its Pura Vida branded products through wholesale retailers and Pura Vida websites, including www.puravidabracelets.com, www.puravidabracelets.eu, and www.puravidabracelets.ca; and Vera Bradley Indirect branded products to specialty retail locations, department stores, national accounts, third party e-commerce sites, third-party inventory liquidators, and through licensing agreements. Vera Bradley, Inc. was incorporated in 1982 and is headquartered in Roanoke, Indiana.

About Columbia Sportswear

Columbia Sportswear Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, markets, and distributes outdoor, active, and everyday lifestyle apparel, footwear, accessories, and equipment in the United States, Latin America, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Canada. The company provides apparel, accessories, and equipment for hiking, trail running, snow, fishing, hunting, mountaineering, climbing, skiing and snowboarding, trail, and outdoor activities. It offers footwear products that include lightweight hiking boot; trail running shoes; rugged cold weather boots; sandals and shoes for use in water activities; and footwear for lifestyle wear. In addition, it owned network of branded and outlet retail stores; brand-specific e-commerce sites; and concession or franchise-based arrangements with third parties at branded outlet and shop-in-shop retail locations, as well as through independently operated specialty outdoor and sporting goods stores, sporting goods chains, department store chains, internet retailers, and international distributors. The company sells its products under the Columbia, Mountain Hard Wear, SOREL, and prAna brand names. Columbia Sportswear Company was founded in 1938 and is headquartered in Portland, Oregon.