TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) vs. Fred’s (OTCMKTS:FREDQ) Head-To-Head Comparison

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) and Fred’s (OTCMKTS:FREDQ) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for TJX Companies and Fred’s, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
TJX Companies	0	1	18	1	3.00
Fred’s	0	0	0	0	0.00

TJX Companies presently has a consensus price target of $141.06, indicating a potential upside of 14.78%. Given TJX Companies’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe TJX Companies is more favorable than Fred’s.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares TJX Companies and Fred’s”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
TJX Companies	$56.99 billion	2.41	$4.86 billion	$4.25	28.91
Fred’s	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

TJX Companies has higher revenue and earnings than Fred’s.

Profitability

This table compares TJX Companies and Fred’s’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
TJX Companies	8.47%	58.81%	15.26%
Fred’s	N/A	N/A	N/A

Insider and Institutional Ownership

91.1% of TJX Companies shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of TJX Companies shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 27.2% of Fred’s shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

TJX Companies beats Fred’s on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About TJX Companies

The TJX Companies, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an off-price apparel and home fashions retailer in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. It operates through four segments: Marmaxx, HomeGoods, TJX Canada, and TJX International. The company sells family apparel, including footwear and accessories; home fashions, such as home basics, furniture, rugs, lighting products, giftware, soft home products, decorative accessories, tabletop, and cookware, as well as expanded pet, and gourmet food departments; jewelry and accessories; and other merchandise. It offers its products through stores and e-commerce sites. The TJX Companies, Inc. was incorporated in 1962 and is headquartered in Framingham, Massachusetts.

About Fred’s

Fred's, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, sells general merchandise through its retail discount stores and full service pharmacies. The company, through its stores, offers health, beauty, and personal care products; household cleaning supplies, disposable diapers, pet foods, and paper products; and various general merchandise, and food and beverage products to low, middle, and fixed income families located in small- to medium-sized towns. It also sells general merchandise to franchised Fred's stores. As of February 3, 2018, the company operated approximately 584 retail stores, 348 pharmacies, and 12 franchised stores located in 15 states primarily in the Southeastern United States. Fred's, Inc. was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee.