Reviewing Auto Trader Group (OTCMKTS:ATDRY) & Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS)

Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) and Auto Trader Group (OTCMKTS:ATDRY) are both mid-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, valuation and institutional ownership.

Volatility & Risk

Dillard’s has a beta of 1.15, indicating that its stock price is 15% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Auto Trader Group has a beta of 1.11, indicating that its stock price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Dillard’s and Auto Trader Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Dillard’s	$6.47 billion	1.50	$570.19 million	$43.65	14.24
Auto Trader Group	$836.74 million	6.73	$393.91 million	N/A	N/A

Dillard’s has higher revenue and earnings than Auto Trader Group.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

67.2% of Dillard’s shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of Auto Trader Group shares are held by institutional investors. 34.8% of Dillard’s shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Dillard’s and Auto Trader Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Dillard’s	10.48%	31.88%	16.20%
Auto Trader Group	N/A	N/A	N/A

Dividends

Dillard’s pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. Auto Trader Group pays an annual dividend of $0.02 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Dillard’s pays out 2.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Dillard’s has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Dillard’s and Auto Trader Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Dillard’s	2	3	0	0	1.60
Auto Trader Group	1	4	1	0	2.00

Dillard’s currently has a consensus price target of $545.67, suggesting a potential downside of 12.19%. Given Dillard’s’ higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Dillard’s is more favorable than Auto Trader Group.

Summary

Dillard’s beats Auto Trader Group on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Dillard’s

Dillard’s, Inc. engages in the retail of fashion apparel, cosmetics, and home furnishings, and other consumer goods. It operates through the Retail Operations and Construction segments. The Retail Operations segment comprises sells cosmetics, ladies’ apparel, ladies’ accessories and lingerie, juniors’ and children’s apparel, men’s apparel and accessories, shoes, and home and furniture products. The Construction segment constructs and remodels stores through CDI Contractors, LLC. The company was founded by William Thomas Dillard in 1938 and is headquartered in Little Rock, AR.

About Auto Trader Group

Auto Trader Group plc operates in the digital automotive marketplace in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company provides vehicle advertisement on its websites for private sellers, as well as insurance and loan financing products to consumers; and display advertising on its websites for manufacturers and their advertising agencies. The company offers its products to retailers, home traders, and logistics firms. Auto Trader Group plc was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Manchester, the United Kingdom.