Head to Head Review: Ermenegildo Zegna (NYSE:ZGN) and Vera Bradley (NASDAQ:VRA)

Ermenegildo Zegna (NYSE:ZGN) and Vera Bradley (NASDAQ:VRA) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, dividends and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Ermenegildo Zegna and Vera Bradley, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ermenegildo Zegna	0	3	4	0	2.57
Vera Bradley	1	2	0	0	1.67

Ermenegildo Zegna currently has a consensus target price of $11.73, indicating a potential upside of 18.75%. Given Ermenegildo Zegna’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Ermenegildo Zegna is more favorable than Vera Bradley.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

12.9% of Ermenegildo Zegna shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 59.9% of Vera Bradley shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.2% of Ermenegildo Zegna shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 10.5% of Vera Bradley shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Ermenegildo Zegna and Vera Bradley”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ermenegildo Zegna	$2.11 billion	1.91	$83.41 million	N/A	N/A
Vera Bradley	$269.65 million	0.34	-$47.84 million	($1.72)	-1.91

Ermenegildo Zegna has higher revenue and earnings than Vera Bradley.

Risk & Volatility

Ermenegildo Zegna has a beta of 0.69, meaning that its share price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vera Bradley has a beta of 1.76, meaning that its share price is 76% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ermenegildo Zegna	N/A	N/A	N/A
Vera Bradley	-17.74%	-12.00%	-6.48%

Summary

Ermenegildo Zegna beats Vera Bradley on 9 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ermenegildo Zegna

Ermenegildo Zegna N.V., together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, markets, and distributes luxury menswear, footwear, leather goods, and other accessories under the Zegna and the Thom Browne brands. It provides luxury leisurewear for men; formal suits, tuxedos, shirts, blazers, formal overcoats, and accessories; leather accessories comprising shoes, bags, belts, and small leather accessories; and fragrances. The company also offers luxury womenswear and childrenswear under the Thom Browne brand, as well as provides eyewear, cufflinks and jewelry, watches, underwear, and beachwear manufactured by third parties under licenses. It serves customers through its retail stores and online channels in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North America, Latin America, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company was founded in 1910 and is based in Trivero, Italy. Ermenegildo Zegna N.V. operates as a subsidiary of Monterubello Societa’ Semplice.

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.