Financial Analysis: Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) vs. Lands’ End (NASDAQ:LE)

Lands’ End (NASDAQ:LE) and Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and dividends.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

37.5% of Lands’ End shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 80.8% of Murphy USA shares are held by institutional investors. 2.1% of Lands’ End shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 9.0% of Murphy USA shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Lands’ End and Murphy USA”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lands’ End	$1.34 billion	0.30	$5.51 million	$11.01	1.19
Murphy USA	$19.38 billion	0.52	$470.60 million	$32.84	16.59

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lands’ End	26.24%	8.22%	2.99%
Murphy USA	2.87%	96.01%	12.95%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Lands’ End and Murphy USA, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lands’ End	0	1	1	0	2.50
Murphy USA	0	5	6	0	2.55

Lands’ End presently has a consensus target price of $20.00, indicating a potential upside of 52.91%. Murphy USA has a consensus target price of $606.89, indicating a potential upside of 11.37%. Given Lands’ End’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Lands’ End is more favorable than Murphy USA.

Volatility & Risk

Lands’ End has a beta of 2.31, indicating that its share price is 131% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Murphy USA has a beta of 0.28, indicating that its share price is 72% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Murphy USA beats Lands’ End on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lands’ End

Lands’ End, Inc. operates as a digital retailer of apparel, swimwear, outerwear, accessories, footwear, home products, and uniform 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.

About Murphy USA

Murphy USA Inc. engages in marketing of retail motor fuel products and convenience merchandise. The company operates retail stores under the Murphy USA, Murphy Express, and QuickChek brands, as well as operates non-fuel convenience stores. It operates retail gasoline stores principally in the Southeast, Southwest, and Midwest United States. Murphy USA Inc. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas.