Carter's (CRI) Competitors

Carter's (NYSE:CRI) and Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, earnings, institutional ownership, risk and valuation.

Does the media prefer CRI or COLM?

In the previous week, Carter's and Carter's both had 5 articles in the media. Columbia Sportswear's average media sentiment score of 0.84 beat Carter's' score of 0.81 indicating that Columbia Sportswear is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Carter's	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Columbia Sportswear	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more volatility and risk, CRI or COLM?

Carter's has a beta of 0.98, meaning that its share price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Columbia Sportswear has a beta of 0.97, meaning that its share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is CRI or COLM a better dividend stock?

Carter's pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Columbia Sportswear pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Carter's pays out 22.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Columbia Sportswear pays out 30.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Carter's is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Is CRI or COLM more profitable?

Columbia Sportswear has a net margin of 6.61% compared to Carter's' net margin of 5.80%. Carter's' return on equity of 23.50% beat Columbia Sportswear's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Carter's	5.80%	23.50%	8.27%
Columbia Sportswear	6.61%	12.57%	7.97%

Do institutionals and insiders believe in CRI or COLM?

47.8% of Columbia Sportswear shares are held by institutional investors. 2.0% of Carter's shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 48.3% of Columbia Sportswear shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Do analysts recommend CRI or COLM?

Carter's currently has a consensus target price of $36.80, suggesting a potential upside of 21.78%. Columbia Sportswear has a consensus target price of $70.00, suggesting a potential upside of 18.08%. Given Carter's' higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Carter's is more favorable than Columbia Sportswear.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Carter's	3 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.40
Columbia Sportswear	1 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, CRI or COLM?

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

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Carter's	$2.81B	0.39	$185.51M	$4.52	6.69
Columbia Sportswear	$3.37B	0.97	$223.27M	$3.91	15.16

Summary

Columbia Sportswear beats Carter's on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.