Reviewing Children’s Place (NASDAQ:PLCE) and Victoria’s Secret & Co. (NYSE:VSCO)

Children’s Place (NASDAQ:PLCE) and Victoria’s Secret & Co. (NYSE:VSCO) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Risk and Volatility

Children’s Place has a beta of 2.25, meaning that its share price is 125% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Victoria’s Secret & Co. has a beta of 2.24, meaning that its share price is 124% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Children’s Place and Victoria’s Secret & Co.’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Children’s Place	-2.04%	-10.32%	-2.45%
Victoria’s Secret & Co.	2.42%	33.77%	4.49%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Children’s Place and Victoria’s Secret & Co.”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Children’s Place	$1.34 billion	0.12	-$57.82 million	($0.86)	-8.70
Victoria’s Secret & Co.	$6.23 billion	0.57	$165.00 million	$1.80	24.44

Victoria’s Secret & Co. has higher revenue and earnings than Children’s Place. Children’s Place is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Victoria’s Secret & Co., indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Children’s Place and Victoria’s Secret & Co., as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Children’s Place	1	1	0	0	1.50
Victoria’s Secret & Co.	3	7	4	0	2.07

Children’s Place currently has a consensus price target of $8.00, suggesting a potential upside of 6.95%. Victoria’s Secret & Co. has a consensus price target of $33.18, suggesting a potential downside of 24.57%. Given Children’s Place’s higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Children’s Place is more favorable than Victoria’s Secret & Co..

Insider and Institutional Ownership

90.3% of Victoria’s Secret & Co. shares are held by institutional investors. 0.6% of Children’s Place shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Victoria’s Secret & Co. shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Victoria’s Secret & Co. beats Children’s Place on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Children’s Place

The Children’s Place, Inc. engages in the provision of apparel, footwear, accessories, and other items for children. The firm also designs contracts to manufacture and sell fashionable and value-priced merchandise under the brand names of The Children’s Place, Baby Place, and Gymboree. It operates through The Children’s Place U.S. and The Children’s Place International segments. The Children’s Place U.S. segment refers to the company’s U.S. and Puerto Rico-based stores and revenue from its U.S. based wholesale business. The Children’s Place International segment is involved in the Canadian-based stores, revenue from the company’s Canadian-based wholesale business, as well as revenue from international franchisees. The company was founded by David Pulver and Clinton A. Clark in 1969 and is headquartered in Secaucus, NJ.

About Victoria’s Secret & Co.

Victoria’s Secret & Co. operates as a lingerie, clothing and beauty retailer. It offers bras, panties, lingerie, pajamas, sleep, sport and swim apparel, and beauty products. The company was founded in 1963 and is headquartered in Reynoldsburg, OH.