Contrasting Genesco (NYSE:GCO) & Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED)

Genesco (NYSE:GCO) and Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Genesco and Barnes & Noble Education”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Genesco	$2.44 billion	0.16	$13.27 million	$1.73	20.40
Barnes & Noble Education	$1.71 billion	0.24	$16.87 million	$0.47	25.62

Barnes & Noble Education has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Genesco. Genesco is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Barnes & Noble Education, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Genesco and Barnes & Noble Education’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Genesco	0.80%	2.66%	1.00%
Barnes & Noble Education	0.98%	7.92%	2.29%

Volatility and Risk

Genesco has a beta of 1.83, suggesting that its share price is 83% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Barnes & Noble Education has a beta of 1.27, suggesting that its share price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

94.5% of Genesco shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 38.5% of Barnes & Noble Education shares are held by institutional investors. 23.1% of Genesco shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of Barnes & Noble Education shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Genesco and Barnes & Noble Education, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Genesco	1	3	0	1	2.20
Barnes & Noble Education	1	1	2	0	2.25

Genesco presently has a consensus target price of $36.67, indicating a potential upside of 3.87%. Barnes & Noble Education has a consensus target price of $17.25, indicating a potential upside of 43.27%. Given Barnes & Noble Education’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Barnes & Noble Education is more favorable than Genesco.

Summary

Barnes & Noble Education beats Genesco on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Genesco

Genesco Inc. operates as a retailer and wholesaler of footwear, apparel, and accessories in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland. The company operates through four segments: Journeys Group, Schuh Group, Johnston & Murphy Group, and Genesco Brands. The Journeys Group segment offers footwear and accessories through the Journeys, Journeys Kidz, and Little Burgundy retail chains, as well as through e-commerce and catalogs for young men, women, and children. Its Schuh Group segment operates Schuh retail footwear stores that offer casual and athletic footwear, as well as sells footwear through e-commerce. The Johnston & Murphy Group segment involved in the retail and e-commerce operations; and wholesale distribution of men’s dress and casual footwear, apparel, and accessories, as well as women’s footwear and accessories. Its Genesco Brands Group segment markets footwear under the Levi’s, Dockers, and G.H. Bass brands for men, women, and children, as well as designs and manufactures the STARTER brands footwear. The company operates through Journeys, Journeys Kidz, Schuh, Little Burgundy, and Johnston & Murphy brand names; and e-commerce websites, including journeys.com, journeyskidz.com, journeys.ca, schuh.co.uk, schuh.ie, schuh.eu, johnstonmurphy.com, littleburgundyshoes.com, johnstonmurphy.ca, nashvilleshoewarehouse.com, and dockersshoes.com. Genesco Inc. was incorporated in 1934 and is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee.

About Barnes & Noble Education

Barnes and Noble Education, Inc. engages in the management and operation of bookstore chains in universities. It operates through the Retail and Wholesale segments. The Retail segment operates college, university, and K-12 school bookstores, physical bookstores, and virtual bookstores. The Wholesale segment sells and distributes new and used textbooks to physical bookstores. The company was founded by Leonard S, Riggio in 1965 and is headquartered in Basking Ridge, NJ.