Fast Retailing (OTCMKTS:FRCOY) & Lands’ End (NASDAQ:LE) Critical Survey

Fast Retailing (OTCMKTS:FRCOY) and Lands’ End (NASDAQ:LE) are both consumer cyclical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Fast Retailing and Lands’ End’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fast Retailing	N/A	N/A	N/A
Lands’ End	-8.87%	-1.70%	-0.56%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

0.0% of Fast Retailing shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 37.5% of Lands’ End shares are held by institutional investors. 3.3% of Lands’ End shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Fast Retailing and Lands’ End, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Fast Retailing	0	0	0	0	N/A
Lands’ End	0	0	1	0	3.00

Lands’ End has a consensus target price of $15.00, suggesting a potential upside of 16.55%. Given Lands’ End’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Lands’ End is more favorable than Fast Retailing.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Fast Retailing and Lands’ End’s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Fast Retailing	N/A	N/A	N/A	$99.47	0.27
Lands’ End	$1.47 billion	0.28	-$130.68 million	($4.09)	-3.15

Fast Retailing has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Lands’ End. Lands’ End is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Fast Retailing, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

About Fast Retailing

Fast Retailing Co., Ltd., through its subsidiaries, operates as an apparel designer and retailer in Japan and internationally. The company operates through UNIQLO Japan, UNIQLO International, GU, and Global Brands segments. It manufactures and retails clothing for men, women, children, and babies, as well as offers shoes and other goods and items. The company operates stores and franchises under the UNIQLO, GU, PLST, Theory, COMPTOIR DES COTONNIERS, J Brand, and PRINCESSE TAM.TAM brand names. It also sells its products through online; and provides real estate leasing services. The company was formerly known as Ogori Shoji Co., Ltd. and changed its name to Fast Retailing Co., Ltd. in September 1991. Fast Retailing Co., Ltd. was founded in 1949 and is headquartered in Yamaguchi, Japan.

About Lands’ End

Lands' End, Inc. operates as a digital retailer of casual clothing, swimwear, outerwear, accessories, footwear, and home products in the United States, Europe, Asia, and internationally. It operates through U.S. eCommerce, International, Outfitters, Third Party, and Retail segments. The company also sells uniform and logo apparel. It sells its products through e-commerce and company operated stores, as well as through third party distribution channels under the Lands' End, Lands' End Lighthouse, Squall, Tugless Tank, Drifter, Outrigger, and Marinac, Beach Living brands, as well as Supima, No-Gape, Starfish, Little Black Suit, Iron Knees, Hyde Park, Year' Rounder, ClassMate, Willis & Geiger, and ThermaCheck brands. Lands' End, Inc. was founded in 1963 and is headquartered in Dodgeville, Wisconsin.