V.F. (VFC) Competitors

Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) and V.F. (NYSE:VFC) are both mid-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their media sentiment, earnings, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability, risk and analyst recommendations.

Which has more volatility & risk, COLM or VFC?

Columbia Sportswear has a beta of 0.97, suggesting that its share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, V.F. has a beta of 1.66, suggesting that its share price is 66% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has higher valuation & earnings, COLM or VFC?

Columbia Sportswear has higher earnings, but lower revenue than V.F.. V.F. 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
Columbia Sportswear	$3.37B	0.98	$223.27M	$3.91	15.32
V.F.	$9.50B	0.50	-$189.72M	-$0.50	-24.59

Does the media favor COLM or VFC?

In the previous week, V.F. had 7 more articles in the media than Columbia Sportswear. MarketBeat recorded 13 mentions for V.F. and 6 mentions for Columbia Sportswear. Columbia Sportswear's average media sentiment score of 0.95 beat V.F.'s score of -0.30 indicating that Columbia Sportswear is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Columbia Sportswear	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
V.F.	4 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do analysts recommend COLM or VFC?

Columbia Sportswear presently has a consensus target price of $68.00, suggesting a potential upside of 13.50%. V.F. has a consensus target price of $16.21, suggesting a potential upside of 31.86%. Given V.F.'s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe V.F. is more favorable than Columbia Sportswear.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Columbia Sportswear	1 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
V.F.	0 Sell rating(s)	15 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.29

Is COLM or VFC a better dividend stock?

Columbia Sportswear pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. V.F. pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Columbia Sportswear pays out 30.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. V.F. pays out -72.0% 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. V.F. is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of COLM or VFC?

47.8% of Columbia Sportswear shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.8% of V.F. shares are held by institutional investors. 48.3% of Columbia Sportswear shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of V.F. shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is COLM or VFC more profitable?

Columbia Sportswear has a net margin of 6.61% compared to V.F.'s net margin of -1.97%. V.F.'s return on equity of 20.14% beat Columbia Sportswear's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Columbia Sportswear	6.61%	12.57%	7.97%
V.F.	-1.97%	20.14%	2.75%

Summary

V.F. beats Columbia Sportswear on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.