Cato (CATO) and Its Competitors Head-To-Head Survey

Cato (NYSE:CATO) is one of 285 publicly-traded companies in the “Specialty Retail” industry, but how does it compare to its competitors? We will compare Cato to related businesses based on the strength of its analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, dividends, risk, profitability and institutional ownership.

Risk & Volatility

Cato has a beta of 0.52, suggesting that its stock price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cato’s competitors have a beta of 1.91, suggesting that their average stock price is 91% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

61.1% of Cato shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 51.9% of shares of all “Specialty Retail” companies are held by institutional investors. 18.3% of Cato shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 20.5% of shares of all “Specialty Retail” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Cato and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cato	-0.87%	-3.39%	-1.29%
Cato Competitors	-3.59%	-13.78%	3.24%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Cato and its competitors top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cato	$653.81 million	-$5.91 million	-7.60
Cato Competitors	$7.23 billion	$386.51 million	31.09

Cato’s competitors have higher revenue and earnings than Cato. Cato is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Cato and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cato	1	0	0	0	1.00
Cato Competitors	3686	15621	21645	593	2.46

As a group, “Specialty Retail” companies have a potential upside of 4.81%. Given Cato’s competitors stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Cato has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

Summary

Cato competitors beat Cato on 9 of the 12 factors compared.

About Cato

The Cato Corporation is a specialty retailer of value-priced fashion merchandise for women. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, the company sells apparel, accessories, footwear, and jewelry through its retail store network and online channels. Cato operates under several retail banners, including Cato, Versona, and It’s Fashion Metro. Its merchandise is designed to serve a broad range of customers and includes casualwear, career clothing, dresses, seasonal fashions, plus-size selections, shoes, and fashion accessories.