Head to Head Review: Rent the Runway (NASDAQ:RENT) and Boot Barn (NYSE:BOOT)

Boot Barn (NYSE:BOOT) and Rent the Runway (NASDAQ:RENT) are both retail/wholesale 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.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

73.1% of Rent the Runway shares are held by institutional investors. 0.7% of Boot Barn shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 8.2% of Rent the Runway 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.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Boot Barn and Rent the Runway”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Boot Barn	$2.25 billion	1.94	$180.94 million	$7.12	20.21
Rent the Runway	$329.80 million	0.39	$22.60 million	$0.48	7.92

Boot Barn has higher revenue and earnings than Rent the Runway. Rent the Runway is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Boot Barn, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Boot Barn and Rent the Runway, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Boot Barn	0	2	12	0	2.86
Rent the Runway	1	0	0	0	1.00

Boot Barn presently has a consensus price target of $230.83, suggesting a potential upside of 60.39%. Given Boot Barn’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Boot Barn is more favorable than Rent the Runway.

Profitability

This table compares Boot Barn and Rent the Runway’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Boot Barn	10.02%	18.52%	10.04%
Rent the Runway	6.85%	N/A	-32.17%

Volatility & Risk

Boot Barn has a beta of 1.73, indicating that its stock price is 73% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Rent the Runway has a beta of 1.23, indicating that its stock price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Boot Barn beats Rent the Runway on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Boot Barn

Boot Barn Holdings, Inc., a lifestyle retail chain, operates specialty retail stores in the United States. The company's specialty retail stores offer western and work-related footwear, apparel, and accessories for men, women, and kids. It offers boots, shirts, jackets, hats, belts and belt buckles, handbags, western-style jewelry, rugged footwear, outerwear, overalls, denim, and flame-resistant and high-visibility clothing. The company also provides gifts and home merchandise. The company also sells its products through e-commerce websites, including bootbarn.com; sheplers.com; and countryoutfitter.com. The company was formerly known as WW Top Investment Corporation and changed its name to Boot Barn Holdings, Inc. in June 2014. Boot Barn Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1978 and is based in Irvine, California.

About Rent the Runway

Rent the Runway, Inc. operates shared designer closet in the United States. The company offers evening wear and accessories, ready-to-wear, workwear, denim, casual, maternity, outerwear, blouses, knitwear, loungewear, jewelry, handbags, activewear, and ski wear under subscription, rental, and resale offering. It also engages in the software development and support activities. Rent the Runway, Inc. was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Brooklyn, New York.