Reviewing Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) & TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX)

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) and Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for TJX Companies and Leslie’s, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
TJX Companies	0	4	16	2	2.91
Leslie’s	2	4	1	0	1.86

TJX Companies currently has a consensus price target of $171.63, indicating a potential upside of 38.91%. Leslie’s has a consensus price target of $2.85, indicating a potential upside of 416.30%. Given Leslie’s’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Leslie’s is more favorable than TJX Companies.

Risk & Volatility

TJX Companies has a beta of 0.6, indicating that its share price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Leslie’s has a beta of 1.69, indicating that its share price is 69% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares TJX Companies and Leslie’s”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
TJX Companies	$60.37 billion	2.25	$5.49 billion	$5.41	22.84
Leslie’s	$1.24 billion	0.00	-$236.97 million	($27.08)	-0.02

TJX Companies has higher revenue and earnings than Leslie’s. Leslie’s is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than TJX Companies, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

91.1% of TJX Companies shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of TJX Companies shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Leslie’s shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares TJX Companies and Leslie’s’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
TJX Companies	9.73%	56.56%	15.92%
Leslie’s	-21.24%	N/A	-8.96%

Summary

TJX Companies beats Leslie’s on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About TJX Companies

The TJX Companies, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an off-price apparel and home fashions retailer in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. It operates through four segments: Marmaxx, HomeGoods, TJX Canada, and TJX International. The company sells family apparel, including footwear and accessories; home fashions, such as home basics, furniture, rugs, lighting products, giftware, soft home products, decorative accessories, tabletop, and cookware, as well as expanded pet, and gourmet food departments; jewelry and accessories; and other merchandise. It offers its products through stores and e-commerce sites. The TJX Companies, Inc. was incorporated in 1962 and is headquartered in Framingham, Massachusetts.

About Leslie’s

Leslie’s, Inc. operates as a direct-to-consumer pool and spa care brand in the United States. The company markets and sells pool and spa supplies and related products and services. It also offers various pool and spa maintenance items, such as chemicals, equipment and parts, cleaning and maintenance equipment, safety, recreational, and fitness related products. In addition, the company provides installation and repair services for pool and spa equipment. It also sells its products through e-commerce websites and third-party marketplaces. The company offers complimentary, commercial-grade in-store, water testing, and analysis services. It serves the residential, professional, and commercial consumers. Leslie’s, Inc. was founded in 1963 and is based in Phoenix, Arizona.