Superior Group of Companies (NASDAQ:SGC) and Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) are both industrial products companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and earnings.
Dividends
Superior Group of Companies pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Columbia Sportswear pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Superior Group of Companies pays out 50.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Columbia Sportswear pays out 22.0% 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. Superior Group of Companies has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Columbia Sportswear has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.
Profitability
This table compares Superior Group of Companies and Columbia Sportswear's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
|---|
| Superior Group of Companies | 6.43% | 18.68% | 8.81% |
| Columbia Sportswear | 4.97% | 7.30% | 4.61% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Superior Group of Companies and Columbia Sportswear, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
|---|
| Superior Group of Companies | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 |
| Columbia Sportswear | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 2.63 |
Superior Group of Companies presently has a consensus target price of $32.00, suggesting a potential upside of 21.95%. Columbia Sportswear has a consensus target price of $114.2857, suggesting a potential upside of 8.25%. Given Superior Group of Companies' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Superior Group of Companies is more favorable than Columbia Sportswear.
Risk and Volatility
Superior Group of Companies has a beta of 0.79, indicating that its stock price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Columbia Sportswear has a beta of 0.72, indicating that its stock price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
38.7% of Superior Group of Companies shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 40.6% of Columbia Sportswear shares are held by institutional investors. 30.5% of Superior Group of Companies shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 41.2% of Columbia Sportswear shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Superior Group of Companies and Columbia Sportswear's revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
|---|
| Superior Group of Companies | $376.70 million | 1.09 | $12.07 million | $0.79 | 33.22 |
| Columbia Sportswear | $3.04 billion | 2.30 | $330.49 million | $4.72 | 22.35 |
Columbia Sportswear has higher revenue and earnings than Superior Group of Companies. Columbia Sportswear is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Superior Group of Companies, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Columbia Sportswear beats Superior Group of Companies on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.
