Itochu (OTCMKTS:ITOCY) vs. MINISO Group (NYSE:MNSO) Financial Comparison

Itochu (OTCMKTS:ITOCY) and MINISO Group (NYSE:MNSO) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, dividends and risk.

Dividends

Itochu pays an annual dividend of $0.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. MINISO Group pays an annual dividend of $0.73 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.6%. Itochu pays out 17.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. MINISO Group pays out 77.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Itochu and MINISO Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Itochu	$98.47 billion	1.05	$5.63 billion	$0.93	14.03
MINISO Group	$3.07 billion	1.11	$167.62 million	$0.94	11.73

Itochu has higher revenue and earnings than MINISO Group. MINISO Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Itochu, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

Itochu has a beta of 0.63, meaning that its share price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, MINISO Group has a beta of 0.11, meaning that its share price is 89% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Itochu and MINISO Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Itochu	0	1	1	2	3.25
MINISO Group	1	1	2	0	2.25

MINISO Group has a consensus price target of $19.50, indicating a potential upside of 76.79%. Given MINISO Group’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe MINISO Group is more favorable than Itochu.

Profitability

This table compares Itochu and MINISO Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Itochu	N/A	N/A	N/A
MINISO Group	9.03%	18.98%	7.26%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

0.1% of Itochu shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 17.2% of MINISO Group shares are held by institutional investors. 73.5% of MINISO Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

MINISO Group beats Itochu on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Itochu

ITOCHU Corporation engages in trading and importing/exporting various products worldwide. The company’s Textile segment produces and sells raw materials, threads, and textiles; and garments, home furnishings, and industrial materials, as well as trades in industrial textile and lifestyle products. Its Machinery segment engages in the plants, bridges, railways, and other infrastructure; power generation, transmission, transformation, and sale; water, environment and waste-related; ship trading; renewable and alternative energy; and waste recycling businesses. The company’s Metals & Minerals segment engages in development of metal and mineral resource; processing and steel products; trading of iron ore, coal, pig iron and ferrous raw materials, non-ferrous and light metals, steel products, nuclear fuels, and greenhouse gas emissions; and recycling and waste treatment activities. Its Energy & Chemicals segment trades in crude oil, petroleum products, LPG, LNG, natural gas, hydrogen, organic and inorganic chemicals, functional food, synthetic resins, packaging materials, household goods, fine chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and electronic materials, as well as engages in the solar and biomass power generation, electricity trading, and the energy storage cell businesses. The company’s Food segment produces, distributes, and retails food products. Its General Products & Realty segment produces and sells paper, pulp, natural rubber, tire, and wood products and materials; develops and operates real estate properties, such as housing, logistics facilities, and other projects; and offers logistics services. The company’s ICT & Financial Business segment offers IT, Internet related and venture capital, mobile telephone equipment, BPO, broadcasting and communications, entertainment and content, healthcare and preventive medicine outsourcing, and financial and insurance brokerage services. The company was founded in 1858 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

About MINISO Group

MINISO Group Holding Limited, an investment holding company, engages in the retail and wholesale of lifestyle products and pop toy products in China, Asia, the United States, and Europe. The company offers products in various categories, including home decor products, small electronics, textiles, accessories, beauty tools, toys, cosmetics, personal care products, snacks, fragrances and perfumes, and stationeries and gifts under the MINISO and WonderLife brand names; and blind boxes, toy bricks, model figures, model kits, collectible dolls, Ichiban Kuji, sculptures, and other popular toys under the TOP TOY brand. The company was founded in 2013 and is based in Guangzhou, China.