Financial Review: Steven Madden (NASDAQ:SHOO) & Xtep International (OTCMKTS:XTEPY)

Steven Madden (NASDAQ:SHOO) and Xtep International (OTCMKTS:XTEPY) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Steven Madden and Xtep International’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Steven Madden	2.89%	12.29%	5.70%
Xtep International	N/A	N/A	N/A

Risk and Volatility

Steven Madden has a beta of 1.12, suggesting that its stock price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Xtep International has a beta of 0.2, suggesting that its stock price is 80% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Steven Madden and Xtep International, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Steven Madden	1	3	5	0	2.44
Xtep International	0	1	0	0	2.00

Steven Madden presently has a consensus price target of $43.88, suggesting a potential upside of 6.11%. Given Steven Madden’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Steven Madden is more favorable than Xtep International.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

99.9% of Steven Madden shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.2% of Steven Madden shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Steven Madden pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Xtep International pays an annual dividend of $2.29 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. Steven Madden pays out 80.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Steven Madden and Xtep International”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Steven Madden	$2.63 billion	1.15	$44.66 million	$1.05	39.38
Xtep International	$1.97 billion	0.77	$190.79 million	N/A	N/A

Xtep International has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Steven Madden.

Summary

Steven Madden beats Xtep International on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Steven Madden

Steven Madden, Ltd. designs, sources, and markets fashion-forward branded and private label footwear, accessories, and apparel in the United States and internationally. It operates through Wholesale Footwear, Wholesale Accessories/Apparel, Direct-to- Consumer, and Licensing segments. The Wholesale Footwear segment designs, sources, and markets various products, including dress shoes, boots, booties, fashion sneakers, sandals, and casual shoes under the Steve Madden, Dolce Vita, Betsey Johnson, Blondo, GREATS, and Anne Klein brands. The Wholesale Accessories/Apparel segment offers handbags, apparel, small leather goods, belts, soft accessories, fashion scarves, wraps, gifting, and other accessories under the Steve Madden, Anne Klein, Betsey Johnson, and Dolce Vita brands. The Direct-to-Consumer segment operates Steve Madden and Dolce Vita full-price retail stores, Steve Madden outlet stores and concessions, and digital e-commerce websites. The Licensing segment engages in the licensing of the Steve Madden and Betsey Johnson trademarks for the sale of select apparel, accessory, home categories, and other non-core products. In addition, the company distributes its products in the wholesale channel through department stores, mass merchants, off-price retailers, shoe chains, online retailers, national chains, specialty retailers, independent stores, and clubs. Further, it markets its products and services through digital brand marketing, social media and influencer marketing, experiential events, in-store and online promotions, and public relations. The company was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Long Island City, New York.

About Xtep International

Xtep International Holdings Limited engages in the design, development, manufacture, sale, and marketing and brand management of sports footwear, apparel, and accessories. The company sells its products primarily under the XTEP brand, as well as Palladium, K-Swiss, Saucony, and Merrell brand names. It is also involved in the trading of sportswear products. As of March 18, 2021, the company managed an extensive distribution network with exclusive distributors that operated approximately 6,000 stores covering 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities in the People's Republic of China and internationally. It also offers its products online. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Xiamen, the People's Republic of China. Xtep International Holdings Limited is a subsidiary of Group Success Investments Limited.