Critical Survey: Boot Barn (NYSE:BOOT) & Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF)

Boot Barn (NYSE:BOOT) and Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) are both mid-cap retail/wholesale companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership and risk.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Boot Barn and Abercrombie & Fitch”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Boot Barn	$1.91 billion	2.69	$180.94 million	$7.12	23.74
Abercrombie & Fitch	$5.27 billion	0.72	$506.92 million	$10.54	8.03

Abercrombie & Fitch has higher revenue and earnings than Boot Barn. Abercrombie & Fitch is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Boot Barn, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Boot Barn and Abercrombie & Fitch, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Boot Barn	0	2	12	0	2.86
Abercrombie & Fitch	0	5	8	0	2.62

Boot Barn presently has a consensus price target of $224.25, suggesting a potential upside of 32.68%. Abercrombie & Fitch has a consensus price target of $117.45, suggesting a potential upside of 38.76%. Given Abercrombie & Fitch’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Abercrombie & Fitch is more favorable than Boot Barn.

Profitability

This table compares Boot Barn and Abercrombie & Fitch’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Boot Barn	10.10%	18.28%	9.99%
Abercrombie & Fitch	9.63%	36.36%	14.26%

Volatility and Risk

Boot Barn has a beta of 1.75, indicating that its stock price is 75% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Abercrombie & Fitch has a beta of 1.13, indicating that its stock price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500.

About Boot Barn

Boot Barn Holdings, Inc., a lifestyle retail chain, operates specialty retail stores in the United States. The company's specialty retail stores offer western and work-related footwear, apparel, and accessories for men, women, and kids. It offers boots, shirts, jackets, hats, belts and belt buckles, handbags, western-style jewelry, rugged footwear, outerwear, overalls, denim, and flame-resistant and high-visibility clothing. The company also provides gifts and home merchandise. The company also sells its products through e-commerce websites, including bootbarn.com; sheplers.com; and countryoutfitter.com. The company was formerly known as WW Top Investment Corporation and changed its name to Boot Barn Holdings, Inc. in June 2014. Boot Barn Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1978 and is based in Irvine, California.

About Abercrombie & Fitch

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. engages in the retail of apparel, personal care products, and accessories. The firm operates through following geographical segments: Americas, EMEA and APAC. The Americas segment includes operations in North America and South America. The EMEA segment includes operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The APAC segment includes operations in the Asia-Pacific region, including Asia and Oceania. The company was founded by David Abercrombie in 1892 and is headquartered in New Albany, OH.