Head-To-Head Contrast: Buckle (NYSE:BKE) & Sportsman’s Warehouse (NASDAQ:SPWH)

Buckle (NYSE:BKE) and Sportsman’s Warehouse (NASDAQ:SPWH) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, dividends and valuation.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Buckle and Sportsman’s Warehouse”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Buckle	$1.30 billion	1.74	$209.74 million	$4.36	10.04
Sportsman’s Warehouse	$1.21 billion	0.04	-$50.06 million	($1.30)	-0.88

Buckle has higher revenue and earnings than Sportsman’s Warehouse. Sportsman’s Warehouse is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Buckle, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Buckle has a beta of 1.08, indicating that its stock price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sportsman’s Warehouse has a beta of 0.41, indicating that its stock price is 59% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

53.9% of Buckle shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.0% of Sportsman’s Warehouse shares are owned by institutional investors. 38.4% of Buckle shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.8% of Sportsman’s Warehouse shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Buckle and Sportsman’s Warehouse’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Buckle	16.85%	47.35%	21.36%
Sportsman’s Warehouse	-4.17%	-10.68%	-2.39%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Buckle and Sportsman’s Warehouse, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Buckle	0	2	0	0	2.00
Sportsman’s Warehouse	1	1	2	1	2.60

Buckle currently has a consensus target price of $47.00, indicating a potential upside of 7.39%. Sportsman’s Warehouse has a consensus target price of $2.58, indicating a potential upside of 126.61%. Given Sportsman’s Warehouse’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Sportsman’s Warehouse is more favorable than Buckle.

Summary

Buckle beats Sportsman’s Warehouse on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Buckle

The Buckle, Inc. operates as a retailer of casual apparel, footwear, and accessories for young men and women in the United States. It markets a selection of brand name casual apparel, including denims, other casual bottoms, tops, sportswear, outerwear, accessories, and footwear, as well as private label merchandise primarily comprising BKE, Buckle Black, Salvage, Red by BKE, Daytrip, Gimmicks, Gilded Intent, FITZ + EDDI, Willow & Root, Outpost Makers, Departwest, Sterling & Stitch, Reclaim, BKE Vintage, Nova Industries, J.B. Holt, Modish Rebel, Maven Co-op, and Veece. The company provides services, such as hemming, gift-packaging, layaways, guest loyalty program, the Buckle private label credit card, and personalized stylist services, as well as special order system that allows stores to obtain requested merchandise from other company stores or its online order fulfillment center. The Buckle, Inc. also sells its products through its website, buckle.com. The company was formerly known as Mills Clothing, Inc. and changed its name to The Buckle, Inc. in April 1991.The Buckle, Inc. was incorporated in 1948 and is headquartered in Kearney, Nebraska.

About Sportsman’s Warehouse

Sportsman’s Warehouse Holdings, Inc. engages in the retail of sporting and athletic goods. Its products include hunting and shooting, archery, fishing, camping, boating accessories, optics and electronics, knives and tools, and footwear. The company was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in West Jordan, UT.