Critical Contrast: NEXT (OTCMKTS:NXGPF) and Lands’ End (NASDAQ:LE)

NEXT (OTCMKTS:NXGPF) and Lands’ End (NASDAQ:LE) are both consumer cyclical companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares NEXT and Lands’ End’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NEXT	N/A	N/A	N/A
Lands’ End	-8.87%	-1.70%	-0.56%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

47.2% of NEXT shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 37.5% of Lands’ End shares are held by institutional investors. 3.3% of Lands’ End shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares NEXT and Lands’ End’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NEXT	N/A	N/A	N/A	$3.87	27.50
Lands’ End	$1.47 billion	0.26	-$130.68 million	($4.09)	-3.01

NEXT has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Lands’ End. Lands’ End is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than NEXT, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for NEXT and Lands’ End, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NEXT	0	3	1	0	2.25
Lands’ End	0	0	1	0	3.00

Lands’ End has a consensus price target of $15.00, suggesting a potential upside of 21.85%. Given Lands’ End’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Lands’ End is more favorable than NEXT.

Summary

NEXT beats Lands’ End on 6 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About NEXT

NEXT plc engages in the retail of clothing, beauty, footwear, and home products in the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through NEXT Retail; NEXT Online; NEXT Finance; Total Platform; Joules; Property Management; and International Retail, Sourcing, and other segments. It operates through retail stores, online retail platform, and franchise stores. The company also offers consumer credit; NEXT branded products; and women's, men's, children's, homeware, and beauty products under the LABEL brand, and other third-party brands. In addition, it provides property management services, including holding and lease of properties. The company was formerly known as J Hepworth & Son and changed its name to NEXT plc in 1986. NEXT plc was founded in 1864 and is headquartered in Enderby, the United Kingdom.

About Lands’ End

Lands' End, Inc. operates as a digital retailer of casual clothing, swimwear, outerwear, accessories, footwear, and home products in the United States, Europe, Asia, and internationally. It operates through U.S. eCommerce, International, Outfitters, Third Party, and Retail segments. The company also sells uniform and logo apparel. It sells its products through e-commerce and company operated stores, as well as through third party distribution channels under the Lands' End, Lands' End Lighthouse, Squall, Tugless Tank, Drifter, Outrigger, and Marinac, Beach Living brands, as well as Supima, No-Gape, Starfish, Little Black Suit, Iron Knees, Hyde Park, Year' Rounder, ClassMate, Willis & Geiger, and ThermaCheck brands. Lands' End, Inc. was founded in 1963 and is headquartered in Dodgeville, Wisconsin.