Vera Bradley (NASDAQ:VRA) Rating Lowered to Buy at StockNews.com

Vera Bradley (NASDAQ:VRA) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Sunday.

Vera Bradley Trading Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ VRA opened at $6.44 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $6.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.23. Vera Bradley has a 12-month low of $4.60 and a 12-month high of $8.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $198.29 million, a P/E ratio of 25.76 and a beta of 1.89.

Vera Bradley (NASDAQ:VRA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 13th. The textile maker reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.04). Vera Bradley had a return on equity of 6.69% and a net margin of 1.66%. The company had revenue of $133.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $136.06 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Vera Bradley will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vera Bradley

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VRA. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Vera Bradley by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,983 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 1,394 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in Vera Bradley by 4.9% during the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 30,115 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $199,000 after purchasing an additional 1,395 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Vera Bradley by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 27,698 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 2,016 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in Vera Bradley by 11.4% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 21,227 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 2,170 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its position in Vera Bradley by 13.1% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 21,809 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 2,524 shares during the period. 59.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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 consisting of rolling luggage, cosmetics, and travel and packing accessories, as well as travel bags comprising duffel and weekend bags.