Critical Comparison: J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) vs. Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF)

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) and Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings and profitability.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

40.7% of J.Jill shares are held by institutional investors. 4.4% of J.Jill shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.3% of Abercrombie & Fitch shares are held 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.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares J.Jill and Abercrombie & Fitch”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
J.Jill	$596.55 million	0.33	$27.89 million	$1.82	7.18
Abercrombie & Fitch	$5.27 billion	0.69	$506.92 million	$10.54	7.75

Abercrombie & Fitch has higher revenue and earnings than J.Jill. J.Jill is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Abercrombie & Fitch, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares J.Jill and Abercrombie & Fitch’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
J.Jill	4.68%	30.77%	8.38%
Abercrombie & Fitch	9.63%	36.36%	14.26%

Risk & Volatility

J.Jill has a beta of 0.89, meaning that its share price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Abercrombie & Fitch has a beta of 0.97, meaning that its share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for J.Jill and Abercrombie & Fitch, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
J.Jill	2	2	2	0	2.00
Abercrombie & Fitch	0	5	8	0	2.62

J.Jill currently has a consensus price target of $17.25, suggesting a potential upside of 32.06%. Abercrombie & Fitch has a consensus price target of $116.00, suggesting a potential upside of 42.06%. Given Abercrombie & Fitch’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Abercrombie & Fitch is more favorable than J.Jill.

Summary

Abercrombie & Fitch beats J.Jill on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About J.Jill

J.Jill, Inc. operates as an omnichannel retailer for women's apparel under the J.Jill brand in the United States. It offers apparel, footwear, and accessories, including scarves and jewelry. The company markets its products through retail stores, website, and catalogs. J.Jill, Inc. was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Quincy, Massachusetts.

About Abercrombie & Fitch

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. engages in the retail of apparel, personal care products, and accessories. The firm operates through following geographical segments: Americas, EMEA and APAC. The Americas segment includes operations in North America and South America. The EMEA segment includes operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The APAC segment includes operations in the Asia-Pacific region, including Asia and Oceania. The company was founded by David Abercrombie in 1892 and is headquartered in New Albany, OH.