Head-To-Head Review: Li Ning (OTCMKTS:LNNGY) & Victoria’s Secret & Co. (NYSE:VSCO)

Li Ning (OTCMKTS:LNNGY) and Victoria’s Secret & Co. (NYSE:VSCO) are both mid-cap retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation and profitability.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Li Ning and Victoria’s Secret & Co., as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Li Ning	0	1	0	0	2.00
Victoria’s Secret & Co.	1	5	7	1	2.57

Victoria’s Secret & Co. has a consensus price target of $53.30, suggesting a potential downside of 2.38%. Given Victoria’s Secret & Co.’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Victoria’s Secret & Co. is more favorable than Li Ning.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

90.3% of Victoria’s Secret & Co. shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of Victoria’s Secret & Co. shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Li Ning and Victoria’s Secret & Co.’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Li Ning	N/A	N/A	N/A
Victoria’s Secret & Co.	2.67%	33.47%	4.82%

Risk & Volatility

Li Ning has a beta of 0.6, meaning that its stock price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Victoria’s Secret & Co. has a beta of 2.24, meaning that its stock price is 124% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Li Ning and Victoria’s Secret & Co.”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Li Ning	$3.99 billion	1.61	$419.10 million	N/A	N/A
Victoria’s Secret & Co.	$6.23 billion	0.70	$165.00 million	$2.05	26.63

Li Ning has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Victoria’s Secret & Co..

Summary

Victoria’s Secret & Co. beats Li Ning on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Li Ning

Li Ning Company Limited, a sports brand company, engages in the research and development, design, manufacture, marketing, distribution, and retail of sporting goods in the People’s Republic of China. The company offers sporting goods, including professional and leisure footwear, apparel, equipment, and accessories under the LI-NING brand. It also develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and/or sells outdoor sports products under the AIGLE brand; table tennis products under the Double Happiness brand name; fashionable fitness products for dance and yoga under the Danskin brand; and badminton products under the Kason brand name. The company also provides brand licensing, administrative, and property management services. It operates conventional stores, flagship stores, China LI-NING stores, LI-NING 1990 stores, factory outlets, and multi-brand stores under the LI-NING brand. The company was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People’s Republic of China.

About Victoria’s Secret & Co.

Victoria’s Secret & Co. operates as a lingerie, clothing and beauty retailer. It offers bras, panties, lingerie, pajamas, sleep, sport and swim apparel, and beauty products. The company was founded in 1963 and is headquartered in Reynoldsburg, OH.