Analyzing Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) and Next (OTCMKTS:NXGPY)

Next (OTCMKTS:NXGPY) and Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends and valuation.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

69.1% of Levi Strauss & Co. shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of Levi Strauss & Co. shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Next has a beta of 1.03, indicating that its share price is 3% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Levi Strauss & Co. has a beta of 1.28, indicating that its share price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Next and Levi Strauss & Co., as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Next	0	2	0	0	2.00
Levi Strauss & Co.	0	3	12	0	2.80

Levi Strauss & Co. has a consensus price target of $26.69, indicating a potential upside of 48.91%. Given Levi Strauss & Co.’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Levi Strauss & Co. is more favorable than Next.

Dividends

Next pays an annual dividend of $1.03 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Levi Strauss & Co. pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Levi Strauss & Co. pays out 38.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Levi Strauss & Co. has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years. Levi Strauss & Co. is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares Next and Levi Strauss & Co.’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Next	N/A	N/A	N/A
Levi Strauss & Co.	9.20%	25.08%	8.19%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Next and Levi Strauss & Co.”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Next	$7.82 billion	2.60	$938.45 million	N/A	N/A
Levi Strauss & Co.	$6.28 billion	1.11	$578.10 million	$1.46	12.28

Next has higher revenue and earnings than Levi Strauss & Co..

Summary

Levi Strauss & Co. beats Next on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Next

NEXT plc engages in the retail of clothing, beauty, footwear, and home products in the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through NEXT Retail; NEXT Online; NEXT Finance; Total Platform; Property Management; and Franchise, Sourcing, and other segments. It offers consumer credit; NEXT branded products; and women’s, men’s, children’s, clothing, homeware, and beauty products under the LABEL brand, as well as other third-party brands. The company also provides property management services, including holding and lease of properties; operates call centers; and websites, marketing, warehousing, and distribution networks to third-party brands. It operates through retail stores, online retail platforms, and franchise stores. The company was formerly known as J Hepworth & Son and changed its name to NEXT plc in 1986. NEXT plc was founded in 1864 and is headquartered in Enderby, the United Kingdom.

About Levi Strauss & Co.

Levi Strauss & Co. engages in the design, marketing, and sale of apparel products. The company offers jeans, casual and dress pants, tops, shorts, skirts, jackets, footwear, and related accessories. It operates through the following geographical segments: Americas, Europe, and Asia. The company was founded by Levi Strauss in 1853 and is headquartered in San Francisco, CA.