Head-To-Head Analysis: Next (OTCMKTS:NXGPY) versus Buckle (NYSE:BKE)

Next (OTCMKTS:NXGPY) and Buckle (NYSE:BKE) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, dividends, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Next and Buckle’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Next	N/A	N/A	N/A
Buckle	16.12%	43.97%	20.70%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Next and Buckle”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Next	$7.82 billion	2.61	$938.45 million	N/A	N/A
Buckle	$1.22 billion	2.35	$195.47 million	$4.00	13.99

Next has higher revenue and earnings than Buckle.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Next and Buckle, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Next	0	0	0	0	0.00
Buckle	0	1	0	0	2.00

Buckle has a consensus price target of $54.00, suggesting a potential downside of 3.49%. Given Buckle’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Buckle is more favorable than Next.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

53.9% of Buckle shares are owned by institutional investors. 39.8% of Buckle shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

Next has a beta of 0.96, indicating that its stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Buckle has a beta of 1.05, indicating that its stock price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Next pays an annual dividend of $1.95 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Buckle pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Buckle pays out 35.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Summary

Buckle beats Next on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Next

NEXT plc engages in the retail of clothing, beauty, footwear, and home products in the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through NEXT Retail; NEXT Online; NEXT Finance; Total Platform; Property Management; and Franchise, Sourcing, and other segments. It offers consumer credit; NEXT branded products; and women’s, men’s, children’s, clothing, homeware, and beauty products under the LABEL brand, as well as other third-party brands. The company also provides property management services, including holding and lease of properties; operates call centers; and websites, marketing, warehousing, and distribution networks to third-party brands. It operates through retail stores, online retail platforms, and franchise stores. The company was formerly known as J Hepworth & Son and changed its name to NEXT plc in 1986. NEXT plc was founded in 1864 and is headquartered in Enderby, the United Kingdom.

About Buckle

The Buckle, Inc. operates as a retailer of casual apparel, footwear, and accessories for young men and women in the United States. It markets a selection of brand name casual apparel, including denims, other casual bottoms, tops, sportswear, outerwear, accessories, and footwear, as well as private label merchandise primarily comprising BKE, Buckle Black, Salvage, Red by BKE, Daytrip, Gimmicks, Gilded Intent, FITZ + EDDI, Willow & Root, Outpost Makers, Departwest, Sterling & Stitch, Reclaim, BKE Vintage, Nova Industries, J.B. Holt, Modish Rebel, Maven Co-op, and Veece. The company provides services, such as hemming, gift-packaging, layaways, guest loyalty program, the Buckle private label credit card, and personalized stylist services, as well as special order system that allows stores to obtain requested merchandise from other company stores or its online order fulfillment center. The Buckle, Inc. also sells its products through its website, buckle.com. The company was formerly known as Mills Clothing, Inc. and changed its name to The Buckle, Inc. in April 1991.The Buckle, Inc. was incorporated in 1948 and is headquartered in Kearney, Nebraska.