Critical Analysis: Boot Barn (NYSE:BOOT) versus J.Jill (NYSE:JILL)

Boot Barn (NYSE:BOOT) and J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, profitability, risk and dividends.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Boot Barn and J.Jill”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Boot Barn	$1.91 billion	2.76	$180.94 million	$6.76	25.57
J.Jill	$610.86 million	0.39	$39.48 million	$2.19	7.12

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Boot Barn and J.Jill, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Boot Barn	0	4	11	0	2.73
J.Jill	2	2	2	0	2.00

Boot Barn currently has a consensus price target of $206.08, suggesting a potential upside of 19.24%. J.Jill has a consensus price target of $18.00, suggesting a potential upside of 15.38%. Given Boot Barn’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Boot Barn is more favorable than J.Jill.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

40.7% of J.Jill shares are held by institutional investors. 0.7% of Boot Barn shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.7% of J.Jill shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Boot Barn	10.05%	18.11%	9.94%
J.Jill	5.60%	36.33%	9.75%

Volatility and Risk

Boot Barn has a beta of 1.61, indicating that its share price is 61% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, J.Jill has a beta of 0.94, indicating that its share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Boot Barn beats J.Jill on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Boot Barn

Boot Barn Holdings, Inc., a lifestyle retail chain, operates specialty retail stores in the United States. The company's specialty retail stores offer western and work-related footwear, apparel, and accessories for men, women, and kids. It offers boots, shirts, jackets, hats, belts and belt buckles, handbags, western-style jewelry, rugged footwear, outerwear, overalls, denim, and flame-resistant and high-visibility clothing. The company also provides gifts and home merchandise. The company also sells its products through e-commerce websites, including bootbarn.com; sheplers.com; and countryoutfitter.com. The company was formerly known as WW Top Investment Corporation and changed its name to Boot Barn Holdings, Inc. in June 2014. Boot Barn Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1978 and is based in Irvine, California.

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.