eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) vs. Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS) Financial Comparison

Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS) and eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Kohl’s and eBay’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Kohl’s	1.75%	6.75%	2.02%
eBay	18.50%	47.88%	12.38%

Volatility and Risk

Kohl’s has a beta of 1.38, indicating that its stock price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, eBay has a beta of 1.35, indicating that its stock price is 35% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

98.0% of Kohl’s shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.5% of eBay shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of Kohl’s shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of eBay shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Kohl’s and eBay”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Kohl’s	$15.53 billion	0.13	$272.00 million	$2.29	7.82
eBay	$11.10 billion	4.21	$2.03 billion	$4.83	21.73

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Kohl’s and eBay, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Kohl’s	5	8	1	1	1.87
eBay	2	17	14	1	2.41

Kohl’s currently has a consensus target price of $16.17, suggesting a potential downside of 9.73%. eBay has a consensus target price of $117.24, suggesting a potential upside of 11.68%. Given eBay’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe eBay is more favorable than Kohl’s.

Dividends

Kohl’s pays an annual dividend of $0.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. eBay pays an annual dividend of $1.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Kohl’s pays out 21.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. eBay pays out 25.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. eBay has increased its dividend for 7 consecutive years. Kohl’s is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

eBay beats Kohl’s on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Kohl’s

Kohl’s Corporation operates as an omnichannel retailer in the United States. It offers branded apparel, footwear, accessories, beauty, and home products through its stores and website. The company provides its products primarily under the brand names of Croft & Barrow, Jumping Beans, SO, Sonoma Goods for Life, and Tek Gear, as well as Food Network, LC Lauren Conrad, Nine West, and Simply Vera Vera Wang. Kohl’s Corporation was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.

About eBay

eBay Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates marketplace platforms that connect buyers and sellers in the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Germany, and internationally. The company’s marketplace platform includes its online marketplace at ebay.com, off-platform businesses, and the eBay suite of mobile apps. Its platforms enable users to list, sell, and buy various products. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.