Reviewing Genesco (NYSE:GCO) & Woolworths (OTCMKTS:WLWHY)

Woolworths (OTCMKTS:WLWHY) and Genesco (NYSE:GCO) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Volatility and Risk

Woolworths has a beta of 0.31, meaning that its share price is 69% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Genesco has a beta of 2.22, meaning that its share price is 122% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for Woolworths and Genesco, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Woolworths	0	0	0	0	0.00
Genesco	0	2	0	2	3.00

Genesco has a consensus target price of $30.00, suggesting a potential downside of 0.97%. Given Genesco’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Genesco is more favorable than Woolworths.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Woolworths and Genesco”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Woolworths	$4.42 billion	0.68	$134.61 million	N/A	N/A
Genesco	$2.33 billion	0.14	-$18.89 million	($2.44)	-12.42

Woolworths has higher revenue and earnings than Genesco.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

94.5% of Genesco shares are owned by institutional investors. 23.1% of Genesco shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Woolworths and Genesco’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Woolworths	N/A	N/A	N/A
Genesco	-1.03%	1.75%	0.65%

Summary

Genesco beats Woolworths on 8 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Woolworths

Woolworths Holdings Limited, through its subsidiaries, operates a chain of retail stores in South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. It operates through seven segments: Woolworths Fashion, Beauty and Home; Woolworths Food; Woolworths Financial Services; Woolworths Logistics; Country Road Group; and Treasury. The company provides food, clothing, homeware, beauty, and various lifestyle products. It offers financial products and services, such as store cards, credit cards, personal loans, and other financial products. The company is also involved in the cash and debt management activities. Woolworths Holdings Limited was incorporated in 1929 and is based in Cape Town, South Africa.

About Genesco

Genesco Inc. operates as a retailer and wholesaler of footwear, apparel, and accessories in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland. The company operates through four segments: Journeys Group, Schuh Group, Johnston & Murphy Group, and Genesco Brands. The Journeys Group segment offers footwear and accessories through the Journeys, Journeys Kidz, and Little Burgundy retail chains, as well as through e-commerce and catalogs for young men, women, and children. Its Schuh Group segment operates Schuh retail footwear stores that offer casual and athletic footwear, as well as sells footwear through e-commerce. The Johnston & Murphy Group segment involved in the retail and e-commerce operations; and wholesale distribution of men’s dress and casual footwear, apparel, and accessories, as well as women’s footwear and accessories. Its Genesco Brands Group segment markets footwear under the Levi’s, Dockers, and G.H. Bass brands for men, women, and children, as well as designs and manufactures the STARTER brands footwear. The company operates through Journeys, Journeys Kidz, Schuh, Little Burgundy, and Johnston & Murphy brand names; and e-commerce websites, including journeys.com, journeyskidz.com, journeys.ca, schuh.co.uk, schuh.ie, schuh.eu, johnstonmurphy.com, littleburgundyshoes.com, johnstonmurphy.ca, nashvilleshoewarehouse.com, and dockersshoes.com. Genesco Inc. was incorporated in 1934 and is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee.