Financial Survey: Victoria’s Secret & Co. (NYSE:VSCO) & Children’s Place (NASDAQ:PLCE)

Victoria’s Secret & Co. (NYSE:VSCO) and Children’s Place (NASDAQ:PLCE) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk and institutional ownership.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

90.3% of Victoria’s Secret & Co. shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of Victoria’s Secret & Co. shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of Children’s Place shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Victoria’s Secret & Co. and Children’s Place”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Victoria’s Secret & Co.	$6.23 billion	0.53	$165.00 million	$1.80	23.04
Children’s Place	$1.39 billion	0.12	-$57.82 million	($0.86)	-8.76

Victoria’s Secret & Co. has higher revenue and earnings than Children’s Place. Children’s Place is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Victoria’s Secret & Co., indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Victoria’s Secret & Co. has a beta of 2.24, suggesting that its stock price is 124% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Children’s Place has a beta of 1.84, suggesting that its stock price is 84% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Victoria’s Secret & Co. and Children’s Place’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Victoria’s Secret & Co.	2.42%	33.77%	4.49%
Children’s Place	-2.04%	N/A	-2.45%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Victoria’s Secret & Co. and Children’s Place, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Victoria’s Secret & Co.	3	7	4	0	2.07
Children’s Place	1	1	0	0	1.50

Victoria’s Secret & Co. currently has a consensus price target of $33.18, indicating a potential downside of 19.97%. Children’s Place has a consensus price target of $8.00, indicating a potential upside of 6.24%. Given Children’s Place’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Children’s Place is more favorable than Victoria’s Secret & Co..

Summary

Victoria’s Secret & Co. beats Children’s Place on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Victoria’s Secret & Co.

Victoria’s Secret & Co. operates as a lingerie, clothing and beauty retailer. It offers bras, panties, lingerie, pajamas, sleep, sport and swim apparel, and beauty products. The company was founded in 1963 and is headquartered in Reynoldsburg, OH.

About Children’s Place

The Children’s Place, Inc. engages in the provision of apparel, footwear, accessories, and other items for children. The firm also designs contracts to manufacture and sell fashionable and value-priced merchandise under the brand names of The Children’s Place, Baby Place, and Gymboree. It operates through The Children’s Place U.S. and The Children’s Place International segments. The Children’s Place U.S. segment refers to the company’s U.S. and Puerto Rico-based stores and revenue from its U.S. based wholesale business. The Children’s Place International segment is involved in the Canadian-based stores, revenue from the company’s Canadian-based wholesale business, as well as revenue from international franchisees. The company was founded by David Pulver and Clinton A. Clark in 1969 and is headquartered in Secaucus, NJ.