V.F. (VFC) Competitors

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

Is VFC or COLM a better dividend stock?

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

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, VFC or COLM?

Columbia Sportswear has lower revenue, but higher earnings 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
V.F.	$9.50B	0.51	-$189.72M	-$0.50	-24.87
Columbia Sportswear	$3.37B	0.98	$223.27M	$3.91	15.31

Do analysts prefer VFC or COLM?

V.F. presently has a consensus target price of $16.21, suggesting a potential upside of 30.36%. Columbia Sportswear has a consensus target price of $68.00, suggesting a potential upside of 13.56%. 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
V.F.	0 Sell rating(s)	15 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.29
Columbia Sportswear	1 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Does the media refer more to VFC or COLM?

In the previous week, V.F. had 19 more articles in the media than Columbia Sportswear. MarketBeat recorded 25 mentions for V.F. and 6 mentions for Columbia Sportswear. Columbia Sportswear's average media sentiment score of 1.73 beat V.F.'s score of -0.23 indicating that Columbia Sportswear is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
V.F.	7 Very Positive mention(s)	7 Positive mention(s)	10 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Columbia Sportswear	5 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Which has more volatility & risk, VFC or COLM?

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

Do institutionals and insiders believe in VFC or COLM?

86.8% of V.F. shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 47.8% of Columbia Sportswear shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of V.F. 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 large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is VFC or COLM 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
V.F.	-1.97%	20.14%	2.75%
Columbia Sportswear	6.61%	12.57%	7.97%

Summary

V.F. beats Columbia Sportswear on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.