Head-To-Head Survey: Unifi (NYSE:UFI) versus Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL)

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) and Unifi (NYSE:UFI) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability and risk.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Ralph Lauren and Unifi”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ralph Lauren	$8.11 billion	2.45	$941.10 million	$15.87	21.07
Unifi	$531.30 million	0.23	-$24.56 million	($1.33)	-4.96

Ralph Lauren has higher revenue and earnings than Unifi. Unifi is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ralph Lauren, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Ralph Lauren has a beta of 1.34, meaning that its stock price is 34% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Unifi has a beta of 0.71, meaning that its stock price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

67.9% of Ralph Lauren shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.7% of Unifi shares are held by institutional investors. 37.2% of Ralph Lauren shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 18.6% of Unifi shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Ralph Lauren and Unifi, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ralph Lauren	0	2	16	0	2.89
Unifi	1	0	0	0	1.00

Ralph Lauren currently has a consensus price target of $445.67, suggesting a potential upside of 33.30%. Given Ralph Lauren’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Ralph Lauren is more favorable than Unifi.

Profitability

This table compares Ralph Lauren and Unifi’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ralph Lauren	11.76%	39.10%	14.11%
Unifi	-4.62%	-10.32%	-6.08%

Summary

Ralph Lauren beats Unifi on 14 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren Corporation designs, markets, and distributes lifestyle products in North America, Europe, Asia, and internationally. The company offers apparel, including a range of men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing; footwear and accessories, which comprise casual shoes, dress shoes, boots, sneakers, sandals, eyewear, watches, fashion and fine jewelry, scarves, hats, gloves, and umbrellas, as well as leather goods, such as handbags, luggage, small leather goods, and belts; home products consisting of bed and bath lines, furniture, fabric and wallcoverings, floor coverings, lighting, tabletop, kitchen linens, floor coverings, dining, decorative accessories, and giftware; and fragrances. It sells apparel and accessories under the Ralph Lauren Collection, Ralph Lauren Purple Label, Polo Ralph Lauren, Double RL, Lauren Ralph Lauren, Polo Golf Ralph Lauren, Ralph Lauren Golf, RLX Ralph Lauren, Polo Ralph Lauren Children, and Chaps brands; women’s fragrances under the Ralph Lauren Collection, Woman by Ralph Lauren, Romance Collection, and Ralph Collection brand names; and men’s fragrances under the Ralph’s Club, Purple Label, Polo Blue, Polo Red, Polo Green, Polo Black, Polo 67, Safari, Polo Sport, and Big Pony Men’s brand names. The company’s restaurant collection includes The Polo Bar in New York City; RL Restaurant in Chicago; Ralph’s in Paris; The Bar at Ralph Lauren located in Milan; Ralph’s Bar located in Chengdu, China; and Ralph’s Coffee concept. It sells its products to department stores, specialty stores, and golf and pro shops, as well as directly to consumers through its retail stores, concession-based shop-within-shops, and its digital commerce sites. The company directly operates retail stores and concession-based shop-within-shops; and operates Ralph Lauren stores and stores and shops through licensing partners. Ralph Lauren Corporation was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About Unifi

Unifi, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of recycled and synthetic products in North America, Central America, South America, Asia, and Europe. Its polyester products include partially oriented yarn, textured, solution and package dyed, twisted, beamed, and draw wound yarns in virgin or recycled varieties; and nylon products comprise virgin or recycled textured, solution dyed, and spandex covered yarns. The company also provides recycled solutions made from pre-consumer and post-consumer waste, such as plastic bottle flakes, polyester polymer beads, and staple fiber. It offers recycled and synthetic products primarily to yarn manufacturers, knitters, and weavers that produces yarn and fabric for the apparel, hosiery, automotive, home furnishings, industrial, medical, and other end-use markets. The company sells its products through sales force and independent sales agents under the REPREVE brand. Unifi, Inc. was incorporated in 1969 and is headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina.