Buckle (NYSE:BKE – Get Free Report) and Lulu’s Fashion Lounge (NASDAQ:LVLU – Get Free Report) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and dividends.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Buckle and Lulu’s Fashion Lounge”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Buckle | $1.30 billion | 2.22 | $209.74 million | $4.14 | 13.50 |
| Lulu’s Fashion Lounge | $282.28 million | 0.11 | -$13.71 million | ($4.91) | -2.17 |
Institutional and Insider Ownership
53.9% of Buckle shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 73.8% of Lulu’s Fashion Lounge shares are held by institutional investors. 39.0% of Buckle shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.8% of Lulu’s Fashion Lounge shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares Buckle and Lulu’s Fashion Lounge’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Buckle | 16.16% | 45.18% | 20.58% |
| Lulu’s Fashion Lounge | -4.86% | -335.73% | -13.44% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current ratings for Buckle and Lulu’s Fashion Lounge, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Buckle | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.50 |
| Lulu’s Fashion Lounge | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
Buckle presently has a consensus price target of $53.00, indicating a potential downside of 5.15%. Given Buckle’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Buckle is more favorable than Lulu’s Fashion Lounge.
Risk & Volatility
Buckle has a beta of 1.18, meaning that its stock price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lulu’s Fashion Lounge has a beta of 0.59, meaning that its stock price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Buckle beats Lulu’s Fashion Lounge on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Buckle
The Buckle, Inc. operates as a retailer of casual apparel, footwear, and accessories for young men and women in the United States. It markets a selection of brand name casual apparel, including denims, other casual bottoms, tops, sportswear, outerwear, accessories, and footwear, as well as private label merchandise primarily comprising BKE, Buckle Black, Salvage, Red by BKE, Daytrip, Gimmicks, Gilded Intent, FITZ + EDDI, Willow & Root, Outpost Makers, Departwest, Sterling & Stitch, Reclaim, BKE Vintage, Nova Industries, J.B. Holt, Modish Rebel, Maven Co-op, and Veece. The company provides services, such as hemming, gift-packaging, layaways, guest loyalty program, the Buckle private label credit card, and personalized stylist services, as well as special order system that allows stores to obtain requested merchandise from other company stores or its online order fulfillment center. The Buckle, Inc. also sells its products through its website, buckle.com. The company was formerly known as Mills Clothing, Inc. and changed its name to The Buckle, Inc. in April 1991.The Buckle, Inc. was incorporated in 1948 and is headquartered in Kearney, Nebraska.
About Lulu’s Fashion Lounge
Lulu’s Fashion Lounge Holdings, Inc. engages in providing an online website for clothing. It offers retailing of women’s clothing, shoes, and accessories. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Chico, CA.
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