a.k.a. Brands (NYSE:AKA) and Five Below (NASDAQ:FIVE) Critical Review

a.k.a. Brands (NYSE:AKA) and Five Below (NASDAQ:FIVE) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for a.k.a. Brands and Five Below, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
a.k.a. Brands	1	1	0	0	1.50
Five Below	0	13	19	0	2.59

Five Below has a consensus target price of $300.45, indicating a potential upside of 25.03%. Given Five Below’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Five Below is more favorable than a.k.a. Brands.

Profitability

This table compares a.k.a. Brands and Five Below’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
a.k.a. Brands	-4.78%	-24.96%	-5.80%
Five Below	11.65%	22.13%	9.86%

Risk & Volatility

a.k.a. Brands has a beta of 1.33, meaning that its stock price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Five Below has a beta of 0.9, meaning that its stock price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares a.k.a. Brands and Five Below”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
a.k.a. Brands	$617.82 million	0.18	-$31.43 million	($2.72)	-3.67
Five Below	$4.76 billion	2.78	$358.64 million	$11.14	21.57

Five Below has higher revenue and earnings than a.k.a. Brands. a.k.a. Brands is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Five Below, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

55.3% of a.k.a. Brands shares are owned by institutional investors. 18.2% of a.k.a. Brands shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Five Below shares are owned by company 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

Five Below beats a.k.a. Brands on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About a.k.a. Brands

a.k.a. Brands Holding Corp. operates a portfolio of online fashion brands in the United States, Australia, and internationally. The company offers streetwear apparel, dresses, tops, bottoms, shoes, headwear, and accessories through its online stores under the Princess Polly, Petal & Pup, Culture Kings, and mnml brands. It also operates physical stores under the Culture Kings brand. The company was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

About Five Below

Five Below, Inc. operates as a specialty value retailer in the United States. The company offers range of accessories, which includes novelty socks, sunglasses, jewelry, scarves, gloves, hair accessories, athletic tops and bottoms, and t-shirts, as well as nail polish, lip gloss, fragrance, and branded cosmetics; and personalized living space products, such as lamps, posters, frames, fleece blankets, plush items, pillows, candles, incense, lighting, novelty décor, accent furniture, and related items, as well as provides storage options. It provides assortment of sports balls, team sports merchandise, and fitness accessories comprising hand weights, jump ropes, and gym balls; various games, such as board games, puzzles, collectibles, and toys, including remote control; and summer season sports, which includes pool, beach, and outdoor toys, as well as games and accessories. In addition, the company offers accessories for cell phones, tablets, audio, and computers, as well as cases, chargers, headphones, and other related items; and media products including books, video games, and DVDs. It also provides assortment of craft activity kits, and arts and crafts supplies, such as crayons, markers, and stickers; and school products comprising backpacks, fashion notebooks and journals, novelty pens and pencils, and locker accessories. Further, the company offers party products, which includes party goods, decorations, gag gifts, and greeting cards, as well as every day and special occasion merchandise; assortment of classic and novelty candy bars, movie-size box candy, seasonal-related candy, and gum and snack food products, as well as sells chilled drinks through coolers; and provides seasonally specific items used to celebrate and decorate for events. The company was formerly known as Cheap Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to Five Below, Inc. in August 2002. Five Below, Inc. was incorporated in 2002 and is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.