Contrasting Zalando (OTCMKTS:ZLNDY) and Vera Bradley (NASDAQ:VRA)

Zalando (OTCMKTS:ZLNDY) and Vera Bradley (NASDAQ:VRA) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, dividends, earnings, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Zalando and Vera Bradley”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Zalando	$11.44 billion	0.64	$271.71 million	$0.57	24.40
Vera Bradley	$371.97 million	0.16	-$62.19 million	($3.16)	-0.66

Zalando has higher revenue and earnings than Vera Bradley. Vera Bradley is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Zalando, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

59.9% of Vera Bradley shares are owned by institutional investors. 12.1% of Vera Bradley shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Zalando and Vera Bradley, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Zalando	1	1	2	1	2.60
Vera Bradley	0	2	0	0	2.00

Profitability

This table compares Zalando and Vera Bradley’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Zalando	2.49%	10.19%	3.37%
Vera Bradley	-25.52%	-11.07%	-6.69%

Volatility & Risk

Zalando has a beta of 1.54, suggesting that its share price is 54% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vera Bradley has a beta of 1.8, suggesting that its share price is 80% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Zalando beats Vera Bradley on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Zalando

Zalando SE operates an online platform for fashion and lifestyle products. The company operates through Fashion Store and Offprice segments. It provides shoes, apparel, accessories, and beauty products with free delivery and returns, as well as various payment options. The company also sells its products through Lounge by Zalando; and brick-and-mortar outlet stores. It operates in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, France, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The company was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Berlin, Germany.

About Vera Bradley

Vera Bradley, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells women’s handbags, luggage and travel items, fashion and home accessories, and gifts. It operates through three segments: Vera Bradley Direct, Vera Bradley Indirect, and Pura Vida. The company offers bag products, such as totes, crossbodies, satchels, clutches, backpacks, baby bags, and lunch bags; accessories, including ID holders, lanyards, wallets, wristlets, eyewear, scarves, hair accessories, and various technology accessories; bracelets, rings, and necklaces under Pura Vida brand name; and travel products consist of rolling luggage, cosmetics, and travel and packing accessories, as well as travel bags comprising duffel and weekend bags. It also provides home products that include throw blankets, beach towels, and comforters, as well as items, such as mugs and tumblers; apparel/footwear comprising sleepwear, footwear, outerwear, tees and hoodies, and socks; and stationery and merchandising products, as well as freight, licensing, and gift card breakage services. The company sells its Vera Bradley branded products through its full-line and outlet stores in the United States; verabradley.com, an online outlet site; its annual outlet sale in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It sells its Pura Vida branded products through wholesale retailers and Pura Vida websites, including www.puravidabracelets.com, www.puravidabracelets.eu, and www.puravidabracelets.ca; and Vera Bradley Indirect branded products to specialty retail locations, department stores, national accounts, third party e-commerce sites, third-party inventory liquidators, and through licensing agreements. Vera Bradley, Inc. was incorporated in 1982 and is headquartered in Roanoke, Indiana.