Head-To-Head Analysis: Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) vs. Li Ning (OTCMKTS:LNNGY)

Li Ning (OTCMKTS:LNNGY) and Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) are both mid-cap retail/wholesale companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, earnings, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Volatility and Risk

Li Ning has a beta of 0.73, meaning that its share price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Abercrombie & Fitch has a beta of 1.46, meaning that its share price is 46% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Li Ning	N/A	N/A	N/A
Abercrombie & Fitch	10.60%	42.32%	16.76%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Li Ning and Abercrombie & Fitch, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Li Ning	0	0	0	0	0.00
Abercrombie & Fitch	0	2	6	0	2.75

Abercrombie & Fitch has a consensus price target of $110.63, indicating a potential upside of 19.92%. Given Abercrombie & Fitch’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Abercrombie & Fitch is more favorable than Li Ning.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Li Ning and Abercrombie & Fitch”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Li Ning	$3.99 billion	1.41	$419.10 million	N/A	N/A
Abercrombie & Fitch	$5.03 billion	0.87	$566.22 million	$10.16	9.08

Abercrombie & Fitch has higher revenue and earnings than Li Ning.

Dividends

Li Ning pays an annual dividend of $0.65 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Abercrombie & Fitch pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Abercrombie & Fitch pays out 7.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Summary

Abercrombie & Fitch beats Li Ning on 9 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Li Ning

Li Ning Company Limited, a sports brand company, engages in the research and development, design, manufacture, marketing, distribution, and retail of sporting goods in the People’s Republic of China. The company offers sporting goods, including professional and leisure footwear, apparel, equipment, and accessories under the LI-NING brand. It also develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and/or sells outdoor sports products under the AIGLE brand; table tennis products under the Double Happiness brand name; fashionable fitness products for dance and yoga under the Danskin brand; and badminton products under the Kason brand name. The company also provides brand licensing, administrative, and property management services. It operates conventional stores, flagship stores, China LI-NING stores, LI-NING 1990 stores, factory outlets, and multi-brand stores under the LI-NING brand. The company was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People’s Republic of China.

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.