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

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

Valuation & Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lands’ End	$1.47 billion	0.27	-$130.68 million	($4.09)	-3.14
NEXT	N/A	N/A	N/A	$3.87	27.50

NEXT has lower revenue, but higher earnings 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.

Profitability

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

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Lands’ End and NEXT, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

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

Lands’ End presently has a consensus target price of $15.00, suggesting a potential upside of 16.82%. Given Lands’ End’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly 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 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.

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; Property Management; and Franchise, Sourcing, and other segments. It offers consumer credit; NEXT branded products; and women's, men's, children's, clothing, homeware, and beauty products under the LABEL brand, as well as other third-party brands. The company also provides property management services, including holding and lease of properties; operates call centers; and websites, marketing, warehousing, and distribution networks to third-party brands. It operates through retail stores, online retail platforms, and franchise stores. 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.