Burlington Stores (NYSE:BURL) versus Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Head-To-Head Review

Burlington Stores (NYSE:BURL) and Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) are both large-cap retail/wholesale companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends and profitability.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Burlington Stores and Ross Stores”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Burlington Stores	$10.63 billion	1.66	$503.64 million	$8.15	34.40
Ross Stores	$21.26 billion	2.15	$2.09 billion	$6.33	22.05

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Burlington Stores and Ross Stores, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Burlington Stores	0	0	14	0	3.00
Ross Stores	0	4	12	1	2.82

Burlington Stores currently has a consensus price target of $317.57, indicating a potential upside of 13.28%. Ross Stores has a consensus price target of $159.06, indicating a potential upside of 13.97%. Given Ross Stores’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Ross Stores is more favorable than Burlington Stores.

Volatility & Risk

Burlington Stores has a beta of 1.64, indicating that its share price is 64% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ross Stores has a beta of 1.11, indicating that its share price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

86.9% of Ross Stores shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of Burlington Stores shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.2% of Ross Stores shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Burlington Stores and Ross Stores’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Burlington Stores	4.88%	44.03%	6.48%
Ross Stores	9.79%	38.77%	14.16%

Summary

Ross Stores beats Burlington Stores on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Burlington Stores

Burlington Stores, Inc. operates as a retailer of branded merchandise in the United States. The company provides fashion-focused merchandise, including women's ready-to-wear apparel, menswear, youth apparel, footwear, accessories, toys, gifts, and coats, as well as baby, home, and beauty products. It operates stores under the Burlington Stores, and Cohoes Fashions brand names in Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. Burlington Stores, Inc. was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Burlington, New Jersey.

About Ross Stores

Ross Stores, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates off-price retail apparel and home fashion stores under the Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS brand names in the United States. Its stores primarily offer apparel, accessories, footwear, and home fashions. The company’s Ross Dress for Less stores sell its products at department and specialty stores to middle income households; and dd’s DISCOUNTS stores sell its products at department and discount stores for households with moderate income. Ross Stores, Inc. was incorporated in 1957 and is headquartered in Dublin, California.