Five Below (NASDAQ:FIVE) versus Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) Head to Head Survey

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) and Five Below (NASDAQ:FIVE) are both mid-cap retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and risk.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

95.1% of Bath & Body Works shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Bath & Body Works shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.9% of Five Below shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

Bath & Body Works has a beta of 1.49, meaning that its share price is 49% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Five Below has a beta of 1.09, meaning that its share price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Bath & Body Works and Five Below”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bath & Body Works	$7.31 billion	0.77	$798.00 million	$3.37	8.08
Five Below	$3.88 billion	1.99	$253.61 million	$4.94	28.32

Bath & Body Works has higher revenue and earnings than Five Below. Bath & Body Works is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Five Below, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Bath & Body Works and Five Below, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bath & Body Works	0	3	12	0	2.80
Five Below	1	11	8	0	2.35

Bath & Body Works currently has a consensus price target of $39.69, indicating a potential upside of 45.77%. Five Below has a consensus price target of $143.56, indicating a potential upside of 2.61%. Given Bath & Body Works’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Bath & Body Works is more favorable than Five Below.

Profitability

This table compares Bath & Body Works and Five Below’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bath & Body Works	9.88%	-48.43%	15.18%
Five Below	6.45%	17.13%	7.01%

Summary

Bath & Body Works beats Five Below on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Bath & Body Works

Bath & Body Works, Inc. is a specialty retailers and home to America’s Favorite Fragrances, offering a breadth of exclusive fragrances for the body and home, including the selling collections for fine fragrance mist, body lotion and body cream, 3-wick candles, home fragrance diffusers and liquid hand soap. The company was founded by Leslie Herbert Wexner in 1963 and is headquartered in Columbus, OH.

About Five Below

Five Below, Inc. operates as a specialty value retailer in the United States. The company offers range of accessories, which includes novelty socks, sunglasses, jewelry, scarves, gloves, hair accessories, athletic tops and bottoms, and t-shirts, as well as nail polish, lip gloss, fragrance, and branded cosmetics; and personalized living space products, such as lamps, posters, frames, fleece blankets, plush items, pillows, candles, incense, lighting, novelty décor, accent furniture, and related items, as well as provides storage options. It provides assortment of sports balls, team sports merchandise, and fitness accessories comprising hand weights, jump ropes, and gym balls; various games, such as board games, puzzles, collectibles, and toys, including remote control; and summer season sports, which includes pool, beach, and outdoor toys, as well as games and accessories. In addition, the company offers accessories for cell phones, tablets, audio, and computers, as well as cases, chargers, headphones, and other related items; and media products including books, video games, and DVDs. It also provides assortment of craft activity kits, and arts and crafts supplies, such as crayons, markers, and stickers; and school products comprising backpacks, fashion notebooks and journals, novelty pens and pencils, and locker accessories. Further, the company offers party products, which includes party goods, decorations, gag gifts, and greeting cards, as well as every day and special occasion merchandise; assortment of classic and novelty candy bars, movie-size box candy, seasonal-related candy, and gum and snack food products, as well as sells chilled drinks through coolers; and provides seasonally specific items used to celebrate and decorate for events. The company was formerly known as Cheap Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to Five Below, Inc. in August 2002. Five Below, Inc. was incorporated in 2002 and is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.