Financial Contrast: Hugo Boss (OTCMKTS:BOSSY) and Wacoal (OTCMKTS:WACLY)

Wacoal (OTCMKTS:WACLY) and Hugo Boss (OTCMKTS:BOSSY) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Wacoal and Hugo Boss, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Wacoal	0	0	0	0	0.00
Hugo Boss	0	2	0	0	2.00

Profitability

This table compares Wacoal and Hugo Boss’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Wacoal	7.11%	5.98%	4.31%
Hugo Boss	5.92%	17.88%	7.09%

Risk & Volatility

Wacoal has a beta of -0.02, indicating that its share price is 102% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hugo Boss has a beta of 0.62, indicating that its share price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Wacoal and Hugo Boss”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Wacoal	$1.14 billion	1.24	$46.13 million	$8.17	16.60
Hugo Boss	$4.83 billion	0.59	$230.99 million	$0.83	9.99

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

Dividends

Wacoal pays an annual dividend of $2.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Hugo Boss pays an annual dividend of $0.21 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Wacoal pays out 30.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Hugo Boss pays out 25.3% 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. Hugo Boss is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Hugo Boss beats Wacoal on 8 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Wacoal

Wacoal Holdings Corp. engages in the manufacturing, wholesale, and retail sale of intimate apparel, outerwear, sportswear, and other textile products and accessories in Japan, Asia, Oceania, the United States, and Europe. The company operates through Wacoal Business (Domestic), Wacoal Business (Overseas), Peach John Business, and Other Businesses segments. It offers intimate apparel mainly women’s foundation wear, lingerie, nightwear and children’s underwear; and outerwear, sportswear, and other textile products and accessories. The company also engages in the restaurant, cultural and service-related businesses; and manufacture and sale of mannequins and fixtures, interior design work, and other textile-related businesses. It offers products through department stores, general merchandisers, and other general retailers in Japan, as well as directly managed retail stores, E-commerce websites, and distributors in Japan and internationally. Wacoal Holdings Corp. was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Kyoto, Japan.

About Hugo Boss

Hugo Boss AG, together with its subsidiaries, provides apparels, shoes, and accessories for men and women worldwide. It also offers licensed products comprising of fragrances, eyewear, watches, children’s fashion, equestrian, and cycling. The company markets and sells its products under the BOSS and HUGO brand names through freestanding stores, shop-in-shops, factory outlets, multi-brand stores, and franchise business, as well as online retailers, distribution, and stores. Hugo Boss AG was founded in 1924 and is headquartered in Metzingen, Germany.