Head-To-Head Review: ASICS (OTCMKTS:ASCCF) vs. Rocky Brands (NASDAQ:RCKY)

ASICS (OTCMKTS:ASCCF) and Rocky Brands (NASDAQ:RCKY) are both consumer cyclical companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, risk and valuation.

Dividends

ASICS pays an annual dividend of $13.55 per share and has a dividend yield of 40.3%. Rocky Brands pays an annual dividend of $0.62 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. ASICS pays out 7.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Rocky Brands pays out 44.3% 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. ASICS is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares ASICS and Rocky Brands’ top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ASICS	N/A	N/A	N/A	$172.46	0.19
Rocky Brands	$615.47 million	0.26	$20.47 million	$1.40	15.79

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

Profitability

This table compares ASICS and Rocky Brands’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ASICS	N/A	N/A	N/A
Rocky Brands	2.15%	7.07%	2.77%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

22.2% of ASICS shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 76.2% of Rocky Brands shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.2% of Rocky Brands shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for ASICS and Rocky Brands, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ASICS	0	0	0	0	N/A
Rocky Brands	0	2	0	0	2.00

Rocky Brands has a consensus target price of $21.00, indicating a potential downside of 4.98%. Given Rocky Brands’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Rocky Brands is more favorable than ASICS.

Summary

Rocky Brands beats ASICS on 8 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ASICS

ASICS Corporation manufactures and sells sporting goods in Japan, North America, Europe, China, Oceania, Southeast and South Asia, and internationally. It offers running shoes, apparel, and sports accessories and equipment. The company sells its products under the ASICS, ASICSTIGER, and Onitsuka Tiger brands through retail stores, as well as online. ASICS Corporation was incorporated in 1943 and is headquartered in Kobe, Japan.

About Rocky Brands

Rocky Brands, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets footwear and apparel under the Rocky, Georgia Boot, Durango, Lehigh, Muck, XTRATUF, Servus, Ranger, and Michelin brand names in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through Wholesale, Retail, and Contract Manufacturing segments. The Wholesale segment offers products in approximately 10,000 retail locations through a range of distribution channels, which includes sporting goods stores, outdoor retailers, independent shoe retailers, hardware stores, catalogs, mass merchants, uniform stores, farm store chains, specialty safety stores, specialty retailers, and online retailers. Retail segment sells its products directly to consumers through its websites comprising rockyboots.com, georgiaboot.com, durangoboot.com, muckbootcompany.com, xtratuf.com, lehighoutfitters.com, lehighsafetyshoes.com, and slipgrips.com; and third-party marketplaces and Rocky Outdoor Gear Stores. The Contract Manufacturing segment include private label sales and any sales to customers which are contracted to manufacture a specific footwear product for a customer and include sales to the U.S. Military. In addition, it serves industrial and construction workers, as well as workers in the hospitality industry, such as restaurants or hotels; farmers and ranchers; consumers enamored with western influenced fashion; commercial military personnel; hunting, fishing, camping, and hiking enthusiasts; law enforcement, security personnel, and postal employees; and for the U.S. military personnel. Rocky Brands, Inc. was formerly known as William Brooks Shoe Co. The company was founded in 1932 and is headquartered in Nelsonville, Ohio.