Columbia Sportswear Company (COLM), Under Armour Inc (UA): What’s Driving Sales for This Retailer

Another competitor, Wolverine World Wide, Inc. (NYSE:WWW), also reported its first quarter 2013 results with EPS of $0.81, up 26.6% as compared to the 1Q12 EPS. The company announced organizational changes in which it will move from four operating groups to three. These three groups are the Heritage Group, the Lifestyle Group, and the Performance Group. These groups comprise different brands, and each will be led by a senior officer of the company. This step has been taken to capture global opportunities and further build the company’s brand. Wolverine has also reduced its long term debt by $33 million in this quarter.

Above is a comparison of these three companies on the basis of four parameters. Columbia Sportswear seems to be a great option among the three companies, with the lowest P/E, P/S, and debt-to-equity ratio. It also has the highest dividend yield. Under Armour Inc (NYSE:UA) has the highest P/E and P/S ratio, which isn’t a good sign. Its debt-to-equity ratio is less than Wolverine World Wide, Inc. (NYSE:WWW). The third company, Wolverine World Wide, Inc. (NYSE:WWW), is better than Under Armour in the case of P/E and P/S ratios. The company also has a dividend yield of 0.87, but it has a high debt-to-equity ratio.

Conclusion

Columbia Sportswear is continuously investing in product innovation and expansion through joint ventures in China. These investments will support growth in the long term. I recommend buying shares of Columbia Sportswear. Similarly, Under Armour is also investing in product innovation, marketing, and brand promotion. The company is now the official supplier for the U.S. gymnastic teams.  All these strategies will help the company to grow faster so I recommend buy. Wolverine World Wide, Inc. (NYSE:WWW) has made changes to its organization or leadership but to grow further it will need some robust plans. So I recommend sell.

Gayatri Sharma has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Under Armour. The Motley Fool owns shares of Under Armour. Gayatri is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network — entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited.

The article What’s Driving Sales for This Retailer originally appeared on Fool.com is written by Gayatri Sharma.

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