Analyzing Lands’ End (NASDAQ:LE) and National Vision (NASDAQ:EYE)

Lands’ End (NASDAQ:LE) and National Vision (NASDAQ:EYE) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability and earnings.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Lands’ End and National Vision, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lands’ End	0	1	1	0	2.50
National Vision	0	4	7	0	2.64

Lands’ End currently has a consensus target price of $20.00, suggesting a potential upside of 110.30%. National Vision has a consensus target price of $29.82, suggesting a potential upside of 79.74%. Given Lands’ End’s higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Lands’ End is more favorable than National Vision.

Profitability

This table compares Lands’ End and National Vision’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lands’ End	26.62%	7.96%	3.38%
National Vision	2.47%	6.78%	3.01%

Volatility and Risk

Lands’ End has a beta of 2.25, suggesting that its stock price is 125% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, National Vision has a beta of 0.98, suggesting that its stock price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

37.5% of Lands’ End shares are held by institutional investors. 2.1% of Lands’ End shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.4% of National Vision shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Lands’ End and National Vision”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lands’ End	$1.34 billion	0.21	$5.51 million	$11.24	0.85
National Vision	$1.99 billion	0.66	$29.60 million	$0.61	27.20

National Vision has higher revenue and earnings than Lands’ End. Lands’ End is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than National Vision, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

About Lands’ End

Lands’ End, Inc. operates as a digital retailer of apparel, swimwear, outerwear, accessories, footwear, home products, and uniform in the United States, Europe, Asia, and internationally. It operates through U.S. eCommerce, International, Outfitters, Third Party, and Retail segments. The company also sells uniform and logo apparel. It sells its products through e-commerce and company operated stores, as well as through third party distribution channels under the Lands’ End, Lands’ End Lighthouse, Squall, Tugless Tank, Drifter, Outrigger, and Marinac, Beach Living brands, as well as Supima, No-Gape, Starfish, Little Black Suit, Iron Knees, Hyde Park, Year’ Rounder, ClassMate, Willis & Geiger, and ThermaCheck brands. Lands’ End, Inc. was founded in 1963 and is headquartered in Dodgeville, Wisconsin.

About National Vision

National Vision Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as an optical retailer in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Owned & Host and Legacy. It offers eyeglasses and contact lenses, and optical accessory products; provides eye exams through its America’s Best, Eyeglass World, Vista Optical, Fred Meyer, and Vista Optical military, as well as Vision Center branded stores; and offers health maintenance organization and optometric services. National Vision Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Duluth, Georgia.