Head-To-Head Analysis: Burberry Group (OTCMKTS:BURBY) versus Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF)

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

10.3% of Burberry Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.3% of Abercrombie & Fitch shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Burberry Group has a beta of 1.08, meaning that its stock price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Abercrombie & Fitch has a beta of 0.92, meaning that its stock price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Burberry Group	N/A	N/A	N/A
Abercrombie & Fitch	9.34%	34.36%	13.50%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Burberry Group and Abercrombie & Fitch, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Burberry Group	0	1	0	1	3.00
Abercrombie & Fitch	1	4	8	0	2.54

Abercrombie & Fitch has a consensus target price of $112.64, indicating a potential upside of 22.84%. Given Abercrombie & Fitch’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Abercrombie & Fitch is more favorable than Burberry Group.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Burberry Group and Abercrombie & Fitch”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Burberry Group	$3.24 billion	1.63	$28.15 million	N/A	N/A
Abercrombie & Fitch	$5.27 billion	0.77	$506.92 million	$10.42	8.80

Abercrombie & Fitch has higher revenue and earnings than Burberry Group.

Summary

Abercrombie & Fitch beats Burberry Group on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Burberry Group

Burberry Group plc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, retails, and wholesales luxury goods under the Burberry brand. The company operates in two segments, Retail/Wholesale and Licensing. It provides womenswear, menswear, childrenswear, beauty, eyewear, shoes, and accessories, as well as leather goods, such as bags. The company also licenses third parties to manufacture and distribute products using the Burberry trademarks. It sells its products through Burberry mainline stores, concessions, outlets, digital commerce, Burberry franchisees, department stores, and multi-brand specialty accounts, as well as through Burberry.com website. It operates in the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, India, Africa, and the Americas. The company was founded in 1856 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

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.