Shoe Carnival (NASDAQ:SCVL) and Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) Financial Comparison

Shoe Carnival (NASDAQ:SCVL) and Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, valuation and institutional ownership.

Risk and Volatility

Shoe Carnival has a beta of 1.46, suggesting that its stock price is 46% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Abercrombie & Fitch has a beta of 1.54, suggesting that its stock price is 54% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Shoe Carnival and Abercrombie & Fitch”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Shoe Carnival	$1.18 billion	0.48	$73.77 million	$2.39	8.64
Abercrombie & Fitch	$4.95 billion	0.98	$566.22 million	$10.16	10.02

Abercrombie & Fitch has higher revenue and earnings than Shoe Carnival. Shoe Carnival is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Abercrombie & Fitch, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

66.1% of Shoe Carnival shares are owned by institutional investors. 35.5% of Shoe Carnival shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.3% of Abercrombie & Fitch shares are owned by 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 Shoe Carnival and Abercrombie & Fitch’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Shoe Carnival	5.58%	10.43%	5.92%
Abercrombie & Fitch	10.60%	42.32%	16.76%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Shoe Carnival and Abercrombie & Fitch, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Shoe Carnival	0	0	1	0	3.00
Abercrombie & Fitch	0	2	6	0	2.75

Shoe Carnival presently has a consensus target price of $51.00, suggesting a potential upside of 146.97%. Abercrombie & Fitch has a consensus target price of $111.8750, suggesting a potential upside of 9.93%. Given Shoe Carnival’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Shoe Carnival is more favorable than Abercrombie & Fitch.

Summary

Abercrombie & Fitch beats Shoe Carnival on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Shoe Carnival

Shoe Carnival, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a family footwear retailer in the United States. The company offers range of dress, casual, work, and athletic shoes, as well as sandals and boots for men, women, and children; and various accessories. The company also operates stores, and sells its products through online shopping at shoecarnival.com, as well as through mobile app. Shoe Carnival, Inc. was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Evansville, Indiana.

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.