Oxford Industries (NYSE:OXM) vs. American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Head-To-Head Survey

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) and Oxford Industries (NYSE:OXM) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk and dividends.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares American Eagle Outfitters and Oxford Industries”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
American Eagle Outfitters	$5.50 billion	0.61	$191.98 million	$1.96	10.26
Oxford Industries	$1.48 billion	0.29	-$27.89 million	($0.51)	-56.02

American Eagle Outfitters has higher revenue and earnings than Oxford Industries. Oxford Industries is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than American Eagle Outfitters, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

American Eagle Outfitters pays an annual dividend of $0.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Oxford Industries pays an annual dividend of $2.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 9.8%. American Eagle Outfitters pays out 25.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Oxford Industries pays out -549.0% 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. American Eagle Outfitters has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years and Oxford Industries has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years. Oxford Industries is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for American Eagle Outfitters and Oxford Industries, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
American Eagle Outfitters	1	12	2	0	2.07
Oxford Industries	2	6	0	0	1.75

American Eagle Outfitters currently has a consensus price target of $19.55, indicating a potential downside of 2.85%. Oxford Industries has a consensus price target of $35.25, indicating a potential upside of 23.38%. Given Oxford Industries’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Oxford Industries is more favorable than American Eagle Outfitters.

Profitability

This table compares American Eagle Outfitters and Oxford Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
American Eagle Outfitters	5.91%	23.63%	9.59%
Oxford Industries	-0.46%	4.88%	1.99%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

97.3% of American Eagle Outfitters shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.2% of Oxford Industries shares are held by institutional investors. 8.9% of American Eagle Outfitters shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 6.5% of Oxford Industries shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

American Eagle Outfitters has a beta of 1.28, indicating that its stock price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Oxford Industries has a beta of 1.13, indicating that its stock price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

American Eagle Outfitters beats Oxford Industries on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About American Eagle Outfitters

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. operates as a multi-brand specialty retailer in the United States and internationally. The company provides jeans, apparel and accessories, and personal care products for women and men under the American Eagle brand; and intimates, apparel, activewear, and swim collections under the Aerie and OFFLINE by Aerie brands. It also offers menswear products under the Todd Snyder New York brand; and fashion clothing and accessories under the Unsubscribed brand. The company sells its products through own and licensed retail stores; concession-based shops-within-shops; and digital channels, such as www.ae.com, www.aerie.com, www.toddsnyder.com, and www.unsubscribed.com. American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

About Oxford Industries

Oxford Industries, Inc., an apparel company, designs, sources, markets, and distributes products of lifestyle and other brands worldwide. The company offers men's and women's sportswear and related products under the Tommy Bahama brand; and women's and girl's dresses and sportswear, scarves, bags, jewelry, and belts, as well as children's apparel, swim, footwear, and licensed products under the Lilly Pulitzer brand. In addition, the company licenses Tommy Bahama brand for various products, such as indoor and outdoor furniture, beach chairs, bedding and bath linens, fabrics, leather goods and gifts, headwear, hosiery, sleepwear, shampoo, toiletries, fragrances, cigar accessories, distilled spirits, and other products; and Lilly Pulitzer for stationery and gift products, home furnishing products, and eyewear. The company distribute its products through southerntide.com, thebeaufortbonnetcompany.com, and duckhead.com; and specialty retailers. It offers products through its retail stores, department stores, specialty stores, multi-branded e-commerce retailers, off-price retailers, and other retailers, as well as e-commerce sites. The company operates brand-specific full-price retail stores; Tommy Bahama food and beverage locations; and Tommy Bahama outlet stores. Oxford Industries, Inc. was founded in 1942 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.