Reviewing Genesco (NYSE:GCO) and Zalando (OTCMKTS:ZLNDY)

Genesco (NYSE:GCO) and Zalando (OTCMKTS:ZLNDY) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, earnings, profitability and risk.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Genesco and Zalando”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Genesco	$2.33 billion	0.16	-$18.89 million	($2.44)	-13.80
Zalando	$11.44 billion	0.70	$271.71 million	$0.57	26.66

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

94.5% of Genesco shares are held by institutional investors. 23.1% of Genesco shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Genesco has a beta of 2.22, meaning that its share price is 122% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Zalando has a beta of 1.48, meaning that its share price is 48% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Genesco and Zalando, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Genesco	0	2	0	2	3.00
Zalando	1	1	2	1	2.60

Genesco presently has a consensus price target of $30.00, suggesting a potential downside of 10.93%. Given Genesco’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Genesco is more favorable than Zalando.

Profitability

This table compares Genesco and Zalando’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Genesco	-1.03%	1.75%	0.65%
Zalando	2.49%	10.19%	3.37%

Summary

Zalando beats Genesco on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Genesco

Genesco Inc. operates as a retailer and wholesaler of footwear, apparel, and accessories in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland. The company operates through four segments: Journeys Group, Schuh Group, Johnston & Murphy Group, and Genesco Brands. The Journeys Group segment offers footwear and accessories through the Journeys, Journeys Kidz, and Little Burgundy retail chains, as well as through e-commerce and catalogs for young men, women, and children. Its Schuh Group segment operates Schuh retail footwear stores that offer casual and athletic footwear, as well as sells footwear through e-commerce. The Johnston & Murphy Group segment involved in the retail and e-commerce operations; and wholesale distribution of men’s dress and casual footwear, apparel, and accessories, as well as women’s footwear and accessories. Its Genesco Brands Group segment markets footwear under the Levi’s, Dockers, and G.H. Bass brands for men, women, and children, as well as designs and manufactures the STARTER brands footwear. The company operates through Journeys, Journeys Kidz, Schuh, Little Burgundy, and Johnston & Murphy brand names; and e-commerce websites, including journeys.com, journeyskidz.com, journeys.ca, schuh.co.uk, schuh.ie, schuh.eu, johnstonmurphy.com, littleburgundyshoes.com, johnstonmurphy.ca, nashvilleshoewarehouse.com, and dockersshoes.com. Genesco Inc. was incorporated in 1934 and is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee.

About Zalando

Zalando SE operates an online platform for fashion and lifestyle products. The company operates through Fashion Store and Offprice segments. It provides shoes, apparel, accessories, and beauty products with free delivery and returns, as well as various payment options. The company also sells its products through Lounge by Zalando; and brick-and-mortar outlet stores. It operates in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, France, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The company was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Berlin, Germany.