Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) and Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) are both mid-cap retail/wholesale companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, earnings, valuation and institutional ownership.
Risk and Volatility
Levi Strauss & Co. has a beta of 1.05, meaning that its share price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Columbia Sportswear has a beta of 0.72, meaning that its share price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Levi Strauss & Co. and Columbia Sportswear's revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
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Levi Strauss & Co. | $5.76 billion | 1.43 | $394.61 million | $0.97 | 21.44 |
Columbia Sportswear | $3.04 billion | 2.01 | $330.49 million | $4.72 | 19.55 |
Levi Strauss & Co. has higher revenue and earnings than Columbia Sportswear. Columbia Sportswear is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Levi Strauss & Co., indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
12.3% of Levi Strauss & Co. shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 40.6% of Columbia Sportswear shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.5% of Levi Strauss & Co. shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 41.2% of Columbia Sportswear shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Levi Strauss & Co. and Columbia Sportswear, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
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Levi Strauss & Co. | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 3.00 |
Columbia Sportswear | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 2.50 |
Levi Strauss & Co. presently has a consensus price target of $21.6667, indicating a potential upside of 4.17%. Columbia Sportswear has a consensus price target of $100.20, indicating a potential upside of 8.61%. Given Columbia Sportswear's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Columbia Sportswear is more favorable than Levi Strauss & Co..
Profitability
This table compares Levi Strauss & Co. and Columbia Sportswear's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
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Levi Strauss & Co. | -1.90% | 7.10% | 1.92% |
Columbia Sportswear | 4.97% | 7.30% | 4.61% |
Summary
Columbia Sportswear beats Levi Strauss & Co. on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.