Carter's (CRI) Competitors

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

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, 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	$2.84B	0.33	$185.51M	$3.77	6.73
Columbia Sportswear	$3.37B	0.82	$223.27M	$3.92	12.93

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 3.9%. Columbia Sportswear pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Carter's pays out 26.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Columbia Sportswear pays out 30.6% 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.

Does the media favor CRI or COLM?

In the previous week, Columbia Sportswear had 5 more articles in the media than Carter's. MarketBeat recorded 9 mentions for Columbia Sportswear and 4 mentions for Carter's. Carter's' average media sentiment score of 1.20 beat Columbia Sportswear's score of 0.18 indicating that Carter's is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Carter's	2 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Columbia Sportswear	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Which has more volatility and risk, CRI or COLM?

Carter's has a beta of 0.99, meaning that its share price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Columbia Sportswear has a beta of 1, meaning that its share price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.

Is CRI or COLM more profitable?

Columbia Sportswear has a net margin of 6.59% compared to Carter's' net margin of 4.79%. Carter's' return on equity of 20.68% beat Columbia Sportswear's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Carter's	4.79%	20.68%	7.29%
Columbia Sportswear	6.59%	12.97%	7.93%

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in CRI or COLM?

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

Do analysts rate CRI or COLM?

Carter's currently has a consensus price target of $30.25, suggesting a potential upside of 19.19%. Columbia Sportswear has a consensus price target of $60.80, suggesting a potential upside of 19.92%. Given Columbia Sportswear's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Columbia Sportswear is more favorable than Carter's.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Carter's	2 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.50
Columbia Sportswear	1 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Summary

Columbia Sportswear beats Carter's on 14 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.