Reviewing a.k.a. Brands (NYSE:AKA) & Five Below (NASDAQ:FIVE)

Five Below (NASDAQ:FIVE) and a.k.a. Brands (NYSE:AKA) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, risk and dividends.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

55.3% of a.k.a. Brands shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Five Below shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 18.2% of a.k.a. Brands shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Five Below and a.k.a. Brands”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Five Below	$4.76 billion	2.98	$358.64 million	$11.14	23.11
a.k.a. Brands	$600.21 million	0.19	-$31.43 million	($2.48)	-4.09

Five Below has higher revenue and earnings than a.k.a. Brands. a.k.a. Brands is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Five Below, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Five Below and a.k.a. Brands, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Five Below	0	13	19	0	2.59
a.k.a. Brands	1	2	1	0	2.00

Five Below presently has a consensus target price of $300.20, suggesting a potential upside of 16.59%. a.k.a. Brands has a consensus target price of $19.00, suggesting a potential upside of 87.19%. Given a.k.a. Brands’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe a.k.a. Brands is more favorable than Five Below.

Volatility and Risk

Five Below has a beta of 0.9, suggesting that its share price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, a.k.a. Brands has a beta of 1.33, suggesting that its share price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Five Below and a.k.a. Brands’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Five Below	11.65%	22.13%	9.86%
a.k.a. Brands	-4.43%	-20.93%	-5.17%

Summary

Five Below beats a.k.a. Brands on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Five Below

Five Below, Inc. operates as a specialty value retailer in the United States. The company offers range of accessories, which includes novelty socks, sunglasses, jewelry, scarves, gloves, hair accessories, athletic tops and bottoms, and t-shirts, as well as nail polish, lip gloss, fragrance, and branded cosmetics; and personalized living space products, such as lamps, posters, frames, fleece blankets, plush items, pillows, candles, incense, lighting, novelty décor, accent furniture, and related items, as well as provides storage options. It provides assortment of sports balls, team sports merchandise, and fitness accessories comprising hand weights, jump ropes, and gym balls; various games, such as board games, puzzles, collectibles, and toys, including remote control; and summer season sports, which includes pool, beach, and outdoor toys, as well as games and accessories. In addition, the company offers accessories for cell phones, tablets, audio, and computers, as well as cases, chargers, headphones, and other related items; and media products including books, video games, and DVDs. It also provides assortment of craft activity kits, and arts and crafts supplies, such as crayons, markers, and stickers; and school products comprising backpacks, fashion notebooks and journals, novelty pens and pencils, and locker accessories. Further, the company offers party products, which includes party goods, decorations, gag gifts, and greeting cards, as well as every day and special occasion merchandise; assortment of classic and novelty candy bars, movie-size box candy, seasonal-related candy, and gum and snack food products, as well as sells chilled drinks through coolers; and provides seasonally specific items used to celebrate and decorate for events. The company was formerly known as Cheap Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to Five Below, Inc. in August 2002. Five Below, Inc. was incorporated in 2002 and is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

About a.k.a. Brands

a.k.a. Brands Holding Corp. operates a portfolio of online fashion brands in the United States, Australia, and internationally. The company offers streetwear apparel, dresses, tops, bottoms, shoes, headwear, and accessories through its online stores under the Princess Polly, Petal & Pup, Culture Kings, and mnml brands. It also operates physical stores under the Culture Kings brand. The company was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.