Comparing Asos Pls (OTCMKTS:ASOMY) & Xcel Brands (NASDAQ:XELB)

Xcel Brands (NASDAQ:XELB) and Asos Pls (OTCMKTS:ASOMY) are both small-cap retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Xcel Brands and Asos Pls’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Xcel Brands	-437.09%	-51.46%	-24.73%
Asos Pls	N/A	N/A	N/A

Insider and Institutional Ownership

18.6% of Xcel Brands shares are owned by institutional investors. 29.5% of Xcel Brands shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Xcel Brands and Asos Pls”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Xcel Brands	$8.26 million	1.16	-$22.40 million	($7.86)	-0.21
Asos Pls	$3.23 billion	0.15	-$388.99 million	N/A	N/A

Xcel Brands has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Asos Pls.

Volatility and Risk

Xcel Brands has a beta of 1, meaning that its share price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.Comparatively, Asos Pls has a beta of 2.25, meaning that its share price is 125% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Xcel Brands and Asos Pls, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Xcel Brands	1	0	1	0	2.00
Asos Pls	1	1	0	1	2.33

Xcel Brands currently has a consensus target price of $3.00, suggesting a potential upside of 85.19%. Given Xcel Brands’ higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Xcel Brands is more favorable than Asos Pls.

Summary

Asos Pls beats Xcel Brands on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Xcel Brands

Xcel Brands, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a media and consumer products company in the United States. The company designs, produces, markets, wholesales, and sells branded apparel, footwear, accessories, jewelry, home goods, and other consumer products; and acquires consumer lifestyle brands, including the Isaac Mizrahi, the LOGO by Lori Goldstein, the Judith Ripka, the Halston brand, the C Wonder, the TowerHill by Christie Brinkley brand (the CB brand), and other brands, as well as manages the Longaberger brand. It licenses its brands to third parties; and designs, produces, markets, and distributes through an omni-channel retail sales strategy, which include distribution through interactive television, digital live-stream shopping, brick-and-mortar retail, and e-commerce channels. The company also offers live streaming, social media and other marketing, and public relations support for its brands. In addition, it markets its brands through www.isaacmizrahi.com; www.halston.com; www.judithripka.com; www.cwonder.com; www.lorigoldstein.com; and www.longaberger.com. Xcel Brands, Inc. was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About Asos Pls

ASOS Plc operates as an online fashion retailer in the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark, Poland, and internationally. It offers womenswear and menswear products. The company sells its products under the ASOS Design, ASOS Edition, ASOS Luxe, ASOS 4505, Collusion, Reclaimed Vintage, Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge, HIIT, AsYou, Dark Future, UNRVLLD/SPPLY, Crooked Tongues, Daysocial, Actual, and Weekend Collective brands, as well as through third-party brands. It is also involved in the employer of marketing staff and payment processing businesses, as well as acts as a vehicle for issue of convertible bonds. ASOS Plc was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.