Reviewing Itochu (OTCMKTS:ITOCY) & Kingfisher (OTCMKTS:KGFHY)

Itochu (OTCMKTS:ITOCY) and Kingfisher (OTCMKTS:KGFHY) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Itochu and Kingfisher”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Itochu	$96.69 billion	0.77	$5.89 billion	$7.66	13.49
Kingfisher	$16.34 billion	0.41	$235.86 million	N/A	N/A

Itochu has higher revenue and earnings than Kingfisher.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

0.1% of Itochu shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of Kingfisher shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Itochu and Kingfisher, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Itochu	0	0	0	0	0.00
Kingfisher	2	2	1	0	1.80

Dividends

Itochu pays an annual dividend of $2.01 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Kingfisher pays an annual dividend of $0.43 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.8%. Itochu pays out 26.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Profitability

This table compares Itochu and Kingfisher’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Itochu	5.93%	13.99%	5.80%
Kingfisher	N/A	N/A	N/A

Risk and Volatility

Itochu has a beta of 0.8, meaning that its stock price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kingfisher has a beta of 0.89, meaning that its stock price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Itochu beats Kingfisher on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Itochu

ITOCHU Corporation engages in trading and importing/exporting various products worldwide. The company’s Textile segment produces and sells raw materials, threads, and textiles; and garments, home furnishings, and industrial materials, as well as trades in industrial textile and lifestyle products. Its Machinery segment engages in the plants, bridges, railways, and other infrastructure; power generation, transmission, transformation, and sale; water, environment and waste-related; ship trading; renewable and alternative energy; and waste recycling businesses. The company’s Metals & Minerals segment engages in development of metal and mineral resource; processing and steel products; trading of iron ore, coal, pig iron and ferrous raw materials, non-ferrous and light metals, steel products, nuclear fuels, and greenhouse gas emissions; and recycling and waste treatment activities. Its Energy & Chemicals segment trades in crude oil, petroleum products, LPG, LNG, natural gas, hydrogen, organic and inorganic chemicals, functional food, synthetic resins, packaging materials, household goods, fine chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and electronic materials, as well as engages in the solar and biomass power generation, electricity trading, and the energy storage cell businesses. The company’s Food segment produces, distributes, and retails food products. Its General Products & Realty segment produces and sells paper, pulp, natural rubber, tire, and wood products and materials; develops and operates real estate properties, such as housing, logistics facilities, and other projects; and offers logistics services. The company’s ICT & Financial Business segment offers IT, Internet related and venture capital, mobile telephone equipment, BPO, broadcasting and communications, entertainment and content, healthcare and preventive medicine outsourcing, and financial and insurance brokerage services. The company was founded in 1858 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

About Kingfisher

Kingfisher plc, together with its subsidiaries, supplies home improvement products and services primarily in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, and internationally. It also operates retail stores under the B&Q, Castorama, Brico Dépôt, Screwfix, TradePoint, and Koçtas brands. The company sells its products through stores and e-commerce channels. Kingfisher plc was incorporated in 1982 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.