Comparing V.F. (NYSE:VFC) and Wacoal (OTCMKTS:WACLY)

V.F. (NYSE:VFC) and Wacoal (OTCMKTS:WACLY) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, dividends, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Dividends

V.F. pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Wacoal pays an annual dividend of $2.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. V.F. pays out 65.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Wacoal pays out 30.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for V.F. and Wacoal, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
V.F.	3	12	4	2	2.24
Wacoal	0	0	0	0	0.00

V.F. presently has a consensus price target of $18.69, indicating a potential upside of 11.82%. Given V.F.’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe V.F. is more favorable than Wacoal.

Risk and Volatility

V.F. has a beta of 1.62, indicating that its share price is 62% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Wacoal has a beta of 0.08, indicating that its share price is 92% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

86.8% of V.F. shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of V.F. shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of Wacoal 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 V.F. and Wacoal’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
V.F.	2.33%	19.08%	2.84%
Wacoal	7.11%	5.98%	4.31%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares V.F. and Wacoal”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
V.F.	$9.50 billion	0.69	-$189.72 million	$0.55	30.40
Wacoal	$1.14 billion	1.32	$46.13 million	$8.17	17.61

Wacoal has lower revenue, but higher earnings than V.F.. Wacoal is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than V.F., indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

V.F. beats Wacoal on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About V.F.

VF Corp. engages in the business of producing and marketing apparel, footwear, and accessories. It operates through the following segments: Outdoor, Active, Work, and Other. The Outdoor segment includes authentic outdoor-based lifestyle brands such as performance-based and outdoor apparel, footwear, and equipment. The Active segment focuses on activity-based lifestyle brands including active apparel, footwear, backpacks, luggage, and accessories. The Work segment offers work and work-inspired lifestyle brands with product offerings including apparel, footwear, and accessories. The Other segment refers to the sale of non-VF products and sourcing activities related to transition services. The company was founded by John Barbey in October 1899 and is headquartered in Denver, CO.

About Wacoal

Wacoal Holdings Corp. engages in the manufacturing, wholesale, and retail sale of intimate apparel, outerwear, sportswear, and other textile products and accessories in Japan, Asia, Oceania, the United States, and Europe. The company operates through Wacoal Business (Domestic), Wacoal Business (Overseas), Peach John Business, and Other Businesses segments. It offers intimate apparel mainly women’s foundation wear, lingerie, nightwear and children’s underwear; and outerwear, sportswear, and other textile products and accessories. The company also engages in the restaurant, cultural and service-related businesses; and manufacture and sale of mannequins and fixtures, interior design work, and other textile-related businesses. It offers products through department stores, general merchandisers, and other general retailers in Japan, as well as directly managed retail stores, E-commerce websites, and distributors in Japan and internationally. Wacoal Holdings Corp. was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Kyoto, Japan.