Financial Contrast: Birkenstock (NYSE:BIRK) and Ermenegildo Zegna (NYSE:ZGN)

Ermenegildo Zegna (NYSE:ZGN) and Birkenstock (NYSE:BIRK) are both mid-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, earnings and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Ermenegildo Zegna and Birkenstock, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ermenegildo Zegna	1	4	5	0	2.40
Birkenstock	1	4	13	0	2.67

Ermenegildo Zegna presently has a consensus price target of $13.13, suggesting a potential downside of 2.63%. Birkenstock has a consensus price target of $53.91, suggesting a potential upside of 44.58%. Given Birkenstock’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Birkenstock is more favorable than Ermenegildo Zegna.

Profitability

This table compares Ermenegildo Zegna and Birkenstock’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ermenegildo Zegna	N/A	N/A	N/A
Birkenstock	14.82%	13.36%	7.21%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Ermenegildo Zegna and Birkenstock”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ermenegildo Zegna	$2.17 billion	2.63	$111.54 million	N/A	N/A
Birkenstock	$2.32 billion	2.96	$385.46 million	$2.13	17.50

Birkenstock has higher revenue and earnings than Ermenegildo Zegna.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

12.9% of Ermenegildo Zegna shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 19.9% of Birkenstock shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of Ermenegildo Zegna shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Ermenegildo Zegna has a beta of 0.88, indicating that its stock price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Birkenstock has a beta of 1.3, indicating that its stock price is 30% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Birkenstock beats Ermenegildo Zegna on 11 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ermenegildo Zegna

Ermenegildo Zegna N.V., together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, markets, and distributes luxury menswear, footwear, leather goods, and other accessories under the Zegna and the Thom Browne brands. It provides luxury leisurewear for men; formal suits, tuxedos, shirts, blazers, formal overcoats, and accessories; leather accessories comprising shoes, bags, belts, and small leather accessories; and fragrances. The company also offers luxury womenswear and childrenswear under the Thom Browne brand, as well as provides eyewear, cufflinks and jewelry, watches, underwear, and beachwear manufactured by third parties under licenses. It serves customers through its retail stores and online channels in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North America, Latin America, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company was founded in 1910 and is based in Trivero, Italy. Ermenegildo Zegna N.V. operates as a subsidiary of Monterubello Societa’ Semplice.

About Birkenstock

Birkenstock Holding plc manufactures and sells footwear products. It also offers sandals, shoes, closed-toe silhouettes, skincare products, and accessories. The company sells its products through e-commerce sites and a network of owned retail stores, as well as business-to-business channels. It operates in the United States, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Europe, APMA, and internationally. Birkenstock Holding plc was founded in 1774 and is based in London, the United Kingdom. Birkenstock Holding plc is a subsidiary of BK LC Lux MidCo S.à r.l.