Vera Bradley Beats on Both Top and Bottom Lines

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Vera Bradley (NAS: VRA) reported earnings on March 13. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Feb. 2 (Q4), Vera Bradley beat expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue increased significantly. GAAP earnings per share grew significantly.


Margins grew across the board.

Revenue details
 Vera Bradley booked revenue of $162.6 million. The seven analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted revenue of $152.8 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 21% higher than the prior-year quarter's $134.5 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
 EPS came in at $0.62. The 10 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $0.57 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.62 for Q4 were 24% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.50 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
 For the quarter, gross margin was 57.9%, 150 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 24.6%, 30 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 15.5%, 60 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. (Margins calculated in GAAP terms.)

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $121.2 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.23.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $590.3 million. The average EPS estimate is $1.82.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 85 members out of 97 rating the stock outperform, and 12 members rating it underperform. Among 33 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 28 give Vera Bradley a green thumbs-up, and five give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Vera Bradley is outperform, with an average price target of $30.57.

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The article Vera Bradley Beats on Both Top and Bottom Lines originally appeared on Fool.com.

Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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