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

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

Vera Bradley Price Performance

VRA opened at $7.40 on Wednesday. Vera Bradley has a fifty-two week low of $4.60 and a fifty-two week high of $8.35. The company has a market capitalization of $227.62 million, a P/E ratio of 29.60 and a beta of 1.89. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $6.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.24.

Vera Bradley (NASDAQ:VRA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The textile maker reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $133.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $136.06 million. Vera Bradley had a net margin of 1.66% and a return on equity of 6.69%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Vera Bradley will post 0.63 EPS 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 the company. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Vera Bradley by 11.1% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Vera Bradley by 26.0% during the 3rd quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 14,470 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 2,990 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Vera Bradley by 73.7% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,174 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 3,044 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of Vera Bradley by 258.7% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 9,017 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 6,503 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vera Bradley in the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.88% of the company’s stock.

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.