Analyzing J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) and Children’s Place (NASDAQ:PLCE)

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) and Children’s Place (NASDAQ:PLCE) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, risk, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Risk and Volatility

J.Jill has a beta of 0.87, meaning that its stock price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Children’s Place has a beta of 1.97, meaning that its stock price is 97% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares J.Jill and Children’s Place”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
J.Jill	$596.55 million	0.50	$27.89 million	$1.37	14.60
Children’s Place	$1.21 billion	0.05	-$88.26 million	($4.84)	-0.58

J.Jill has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Children’s Place. Children’s Place is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than J.Jill, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares J.Jill and Children’s Place’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
J.Jill	3.56%	24.44%	6.81%
Children’s Place	-9.09%	N/A	-12.53%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for J.Jill and Children’s Place, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
J.Jill	0	5	2	0	2.29
Children’s Place	1	1	0	0	1.50

J.Jill presently has a consensus price target of $17.50, indicating a potential downside of 12.50%. Children’s Place has a consensus price target of $4.00, indicating a potential upside of 42.35%. Given Children’s Place’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Children’s Place is more favorable than J.Jill.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

40.7% of J.Jill shares are held by institutional investors. 4.4% of J.Jill shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of Children’s Place shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

J.Jill beats Children’s Place on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About J.Jill

J.Jill, Inc. operates as an omnichannel retailer for women's apparel under the J.Jill brand in the United States. It offers apparel, footwear, and accessories, including scarves and jewelry. The company markets its products through retail stores, website, and catalogs. J.Jill, Inc. was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Quincy, Massachusetts.

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.