Critical Comparison: Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) & ON (NYSE:ONON)

ON (NYSE:ONON) and Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends and profitability.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares ON and Levi Strauss & Co.”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ON	$3.64 billion	5.07	$245.87 million	$1.47	19.66
Levi Strauss & Co.	$6.28 billion	1.31	$578.10 million	$1.62	13.17

Levi Strauss & Co. has higher revenue and earnings than ON. Levi Strauss & Co. is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than ON, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

36.4% of ON shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.1% of Levi Strauss & Co. shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of Levi Strauss & Co. 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.

Profitability

This table compares ON and Levi Strauss & Co.’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ON	12.09%	22.92%	13.33%
Levi Strauss & Co.	9.66%	25.79%	8.61%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for ON and Levi Strauss & Co., as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ON	1	5	18	1	2.76
Levi Strauss & Co.	0	4	12	0	2.75

ON presently has a consensus price target of $48.57, suggesting a potential upside of 68.07%. Levi Strauss & Co. has a consensus price target of $27.43, suggesting a potential upside of 28.59%. Given ON’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe ON is more favorable than Levi Strauss & Co..

Risk and Volatility

ON has a beta of 2.12, indicating that its stock price is 112% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Levi Strauss & Co. has a beta of 1.33, indicating that its stock price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

ON beats Levi Strauss & Co. on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ON

On Holding AG engages in the development and distribution of sports products such as footwear, apparel, and accessories for high-performance running, outdoor, all-day activities, and tennis. It sells its products worldwide through independent retailers and global distributors, its own online presence, and its own stores. The company was founded by David Allemann, Olivier Bernhard, and Caspar Coppetti in January 2010 and is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland.

About Levi Strauss & Co.

Levi Strauss & Co. engages in the design, marketing, and sale of apparel products. The company offers jeans, casual and dress pants, tops, shorts, skirts, jackets, footwear, and related accessories. It operates through the following geographical segments: Americas, Europe, and Asia. The company was founded by Levi Strauss in 1853 and is headquartered in San Francisco, CA.