Contrasting Lulu’s Fashion Lounge (NASDAQ:LVLU) & NEXT (OTCMKTS:NXGPF)

NEXT (OTCMKTS:NXGPF) and Lulu’s Fashion Lounge (NASDAQ:LVLU) are both consumer cyclical companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares NEXT and Lulu’s Fashion Lounge’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NEXT	N/A	N/A	N/A
Lulu’s Fashion Lounge	-5.44%	-30.43%	-11.70%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

47.2% of NEXT shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 73.8% of Lulu’s Fashion Lounge shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.9% of Lulu’s Fashion Lounge shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares NEXT and Lulu’s Fashion Lounge’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NEXT	N/A	N/A	N/A	$3.87	27.50
Lulu’s Fashion Lounge	$355.17 million	0.14	-$19.33 million	($0.49)	-2.49

NEXT has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Lulu’s Fashion Lounge. Lulu’s Fashion Lounge is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than NEXT, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for NEXT and Lulu’s Fashion Lounge, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NEXT	0	3	1	0	2.25
Lulu’s Fashion Lounge	0	4	0	0	2.00

Lulu’s Fashion Lounge has a consensus target price of $2.67, indicating a potential upside of 118.60%. Given Lulu’s Fashion Lounge’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Lulu’s Fashion Lounge is more favorable than NEXT.

Summary

NEXT beats Lulu’s Fashion Lounge on 7 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About NEXT

NEXT plc engages in the retail of clothing, beauty, footwear, and home products in the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through NEXT Retail; NEXT Online; NEXT Finance; Total Platform; Property Management; and Franchise, Sourcing, and other segments. It offers consumer credit; NEXT branded products; and women's, men's, children's, clothing, homeware, and beauty products under the LABEL brand, as well as other third-party brands. The company also provides property management services, including holding and lease of properties; operates call centers; and websites, marketing, warehousing, and distribution networks to third-party brands. It operates through retail stores, online retail platforms, and franchise stores. The company was formerly known as J Hepworth & Son and changed its name to NEXT plc in 1986. NEXT plc was founded in 1864 and is headquartered in Enderby, the United Kingdom.

About Lulu’s Fashion Lounge

Lulu's Fashion Lounge Holdings, Inc. operates as an online retailer of women's apparel, footwear, and accessories. The company offers formals, casuals, dresses, tops, bottoms, wedding dresses, rompers and jumpsits, intimates and sleepwear, swimwear, shoes, and accessories under the Lulus brand. It sells its products through owned media, which primarily consists of its website, mobile app, social media, email, and SMS; and earned and paid media, as well as social media platforms. The company also operates bridal boutique stores that offers bridal gowns, bridesmaids dresses, bridal accessories, shoes, and others. The company primarily serves Millennial and Gen Z women. Lulu's Fashion Lounge Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Chico, California.