Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) and J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) Head-To-Head Comparison

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) and J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings and dividends.

Volatility and Risk

Lowe’s Companies has a beta of 0.81, suggesting that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, J.Jill has a beta of 0.86, suggesting that its stock price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Lowe’s Companies and J.Jill”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lowe’s Companies	$86.29 billion	1.46	$6.65 billion	$11.83	19.03
J.Jill	$596.55 million	0.56	$27.89 million	$1.79	12.50

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

74.1% of Lowe’s Companies shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 40.7% of J.Jill shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Lowe’s Companies shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.4% of J.Jill shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Lowe’s Companies and J.Jill, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lowe’s Companies	2	12	22	1	2.59
J.Jill	0	5	2	0	2.29

Lowe’s Companies currently has a consensus target price of $253.48, suggesting a potential upside of 12.59%. J.Jill has a consensus target price of $24.50, suggesting a potential upside of 9.51%. Given Lowe’s Companies’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Lowe’s Companies is more favorable than J.Jill.

Profitability

This table compares Lowe’s Companies and J.Jill’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lowe’s Companies	7.34%	-75.67%	12.82%
J.Jill	4.62%	28.51%	8.13%

Dividends

Lowe’s Companies pays an annual dividend of $5.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. J.Jill pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Lowe’s Companies pays out 42.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. J.Jill pays out 20.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Lowe’s Companies has raised its dividend for 53 consecutive years and J.Jill has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Lowe’s Companies is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Lowe’s Companies beats J.Jill on 14 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lowe’s Companies

Lowe’s Companies, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a home improvement retailer in the United States. The company offers a line of products for construction, maintenance, repair, remodeling, and decorating. It also provides home improvement products, such as appliances, seasonal and outdoor living, lawn and garden, lumber, kitchens and bath, tools, paint, millwork, hardware, flooring, rough plumbing, building materials, décor, and electrical. In addition, the company offers installation services through independent contractors in various product categories; and extended protection plans and repair services. It sells its national brand-name merchandise and private brand products to professional customers, homeowners, renters, businesses, and government. The company also sells its products through Lowes.com website; and through mobile applications. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. was founded in 1921 and is based in Mooresville, North Carolina.

About J.Jill

J.Jill, Inc. operates as an omnichannel retailer for women's apparel under the J.Jill brand in the United States. It offers apparel, footwear, and accessories, including scarves and jewelry. The company markets its products through retail stores, website, and catalogs. J.Jill, Inc. was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Quincy, Massachusetts.