Rocky Brands (NASDAQ:RCKY) vs. Xtep International (OTCMKTS:XTEPY) Head-To-Head Comparison

Rocky Brands (NASDAQ:RCKY) and Xtep International (OTCMKTS:XTEPY) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation and institutional ownership.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

75.1% of Rocky Brands shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.6% of Rocky Brands shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Rocky Brands and Xtep International’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Rocky Brands	3.78%	8.43%	4.35%
Xtep International	N/A	N/A	N/A

Dividends

Rocky Brands pays an annual dividend of $0.62 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Xtep International pays an annual dividend of $2.29 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. Rocky Brands pays out 25.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Rocky Brands and Xtep International, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Rocky Brands	0	3	1	0	2.25
Xtep International	0	1	0	0	2.00

Rocky Brands currently has a consensus price target of $42.00, indicating a potential upside of 24.56%. Given Rocky Brands’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Rocky Brands is more favorable than Xtep International.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Rocky Brands and Xtep International”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Rocky Brands	$481.98 million	0.53	$22.27 million	$2.47	13.65
Xtep International	$1.97 billion	0.77	$190.79 million	N/A	N/A

Xtep International has higher revenue and earnings than Rocky Brands.

Risk and Volatility

Rocky Brands has a beta of 2.39, meaning that its stock price is 139% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Xtep International has a beta of 0.2, meaning that its stock price is 80% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Rocky Brands beats Xtep International on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Rocky Brands

Rocky Brands, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets footwear and apparel in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through Wholesale, Retail, and Contract Manufacturing segments. The Wholesale segment offers products, which includes sporting goods stores, outdoor retailers, independent shoe retailers, hardware stores, catalogs, mass merchants, uniform stores, farm store chains, specialty safety stores, specialty retailers, and online retailers in retail locations through a range of distribution channels. Retail segment sells its products directly to consumers through its websites comprising rockyboots.com, georgiaboot.com, durangoboot.com, muckbootcompany.com, xtratuf.com, lehighoutfitters.com, lehighsafetyshoes.com, and slipgrips.com; and third-party marketplaces and Rocky Outdoor Gear Stores. The Contract Manufacturing segment include private label sales and any sales to customers which are contracted to manufacture a specific footwear product for a customer and include sales to the U.S. Military. In addition, it serves industrial and construction workers, as well as workers in the hospitality industry, such as restaurants or hotels; farmers and ranchers; western; commercial military personnel; hunting, fishing, camping, and hiking enthusiasts; law enforcement, security personnel, and postal employees; and for the U.S. military personnel. The company sells its products under the Rocky, Georgia Boot, Durango, Lehigh, Muck, XTRATUF, Servus, Ranger, and Michelin brand names Rocky Brands, Inc. was formerly known as William Brooks Shoe Co. The company was founded in 1932 and is headquartered in Nelsonville, Ohio.

About Xtep International

Xtep International Holdings Limited engages in the design, development, manufacture, sale, and marketing and brand management of sports footwear, apparel, and accessories. The company sells its products primarily under the XTEP brand, as well as Palladium, K-Swiss, Saucony, and Merrell brand names. It is also involved in the trading of sportswear products. As of March 18, 2021, the company managed an extensive distribution network with exclusive distributors that operated approximately 6,000 stores covering 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities in the People's Republic of China and internationally. It also offers its products online. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Xiamen, the People's Republic of China. Xtep International Holdings Limited is a subsidiary of Group Success Investments Limited.