Itochu (OTCMKTS:ITOCY) versus Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS) Head-To-Head Comparison

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

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Kohl’s and Itochu”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Kohl’s	$15.53 billion	0.18	$272.00 million	$2.29	10.74
Itochu	$98.47 billion	1.18	$5.63 billion	$0.93	15.82

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

Profitability

This table compares Kohl’s and Itochu’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%
Itochu	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Kohl’s and Itochu, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Kohl’s	5	8	2	0	1.80
Itochu	0	1	1	2	3.25

Kohl’s currently has a consensus target price of $17.25, suggesting a potential downside of 29.89%. Given Kohl’s’ higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Kohl’s is more favorable than Itochu.

Volatility & Risk

Kohl’s has a beta of 1.29, indicating that its share price is 29% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Itochu has a beta of 0.67, indicating that its share price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

98.0% of Kohl’s shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.1% of Itochu shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of Kohl’s shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Kohl’s pays an annual dividend of $0.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Itochu pays an annual dividend of $0.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Kohl’s pays out 21.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Itochu pays out 17.2% 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.

Summary

Kohl’s beats Itochu on 10 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 Itochu

ITOCHU Corporation engages in trading and importing/exporting various products worldwide. The company’s Textile segment produces and sells raw materials, threads, and textiles; and garments, home furnishings, and industrial materials, as well as trades in industrial textile and lifestyle products. Its Machinery segment engages in the plants, bridges, railways, and other infrastructure; power generation, transmission, transformation, and sale; water, environment and waste-related; ship trading; renewable and alternative energy; and waste recycling businesses. The company’s Metals & Minerals segment engages in development of metal and mineral resource; processing and steel products; trading of iron ore, coal, pig iron and ferrous raw materials, non-ferrous and light metals, steel products, nuclear fuels, and greenhouse gas emissions; and recycling and waste treatment activities. Its Energy & Chemicals segment trades in crude oil, petroleum products, LPG, LNG, natural gas, hydrogen, organic and inorganic chemicals, functional food, synthetic resins, packaging materials, household goods, fine chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and electronic materials, as well as engages in the solar and biomass power generation, electricity trading, and the energy storage cell businesses. The company’s Food segment produces, distributes, and retails food products. Its General Products & Realty segment produces and sells paper, pulp, natural rubber, tire, and wood products and materials; develops and operates real estate properties, such as housing, logistics facilities, and other projects; and offers logistics services. The company’s ICT & Financial Business segment offers IT, Internet related and venture capital, mobile telephone equipment, BPO, broadcasting and communications, entertainment and content, healthcare and preventive medicine outsourcing, and financial and insurance brokerage services. The company was founded in 1858 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.