Christopher & Banks Corporation (NYSE: CBK) and Chico’s FAS (NYSE:CHS) are both small-cap retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitabiliy, valuation, risk and earnings.
Dividends
Chico’s FAS pays an annual dividend of $0.33 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Christopher & Banks Corporation does not pay a dividend. Chico’s FAS pays out 46.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Chico’s FAS has raised its dividend for 7 consecutive years.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Christopher & Banks Corporation and Chico’s FAS, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Christopher & Banks Corporation | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
| Chico’s FAS | 0 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 2.36 |
Chico’s FAS has a consensus target price of $13.58, suggesting a potential upside of 50.09%. Given Chico’s FAS’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Chico’s FAS is more favorable than Christopher & Banks Corporation.
Volatility & Risk
Christopher & Banks Corporation has a beta of 3.63, meaning that its share price is 263% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Chico’s FAS has a beta of 0.67, meaning that its share price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Christopher & Banks Corporation and Chico’s FAS’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | EBITDA | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Christopher & Banks Corporation | $370.13 million | 0.15 | -$5.82 million | ($0.58) | -2.47 |
| Chico’s FAS | $2.42 billion | 0.47 | $281.35 million | $0.71 | 12.75 |
Chico’s FAS has higher revenue and earnings than Christopher & Banks Corporation. Christopher & Banks Corporation is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Chico’s FAS, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
45.5% of Christopher & Banks Corporation shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.6% of Chico’s FAS shares are owned by institutional investors. 18.6% of Christopher & Banks Corporation shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.0% of Chico’s FAS shares are owned by 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 Christopher & Banks Corporation and Chico’s FAS’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Christopher & Banks Corporation | -5.76% | -26.89% | -14.64% |
| Chico’s FAS | 3.86% | 17.36% | 9.57% |
Summary
Chico’s FAS beats Christopher & Banks Corporation on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
Christopher & Banks Corporation Company Profile
Christopher & Banks Corporation is a national specialty retailer featuring private-brand women’s apparel and accessories. The Company offers its customers an assortment of clothing for everyday needs. Its merchandise assortments include designs of women’s apparel, generally consisting of casual clothing, everyday basics, wear-to-work, leisure/active wear, and sleepwear in missy, petite and women sizes. The Company also offers a selection of jewelry and accessories, including footwear. The Company operates in the Retail Operations segment, which includes the operation of its retail stores, outlet stores, online and mobile. The Retail Operations segment includes activities generated by the Company’s retail store locations (Missy Petite Women (MPW), Outlet stores, Christopher & Banks (CB), and C.J. Banks (CJ)), as well as the e-commerce business. Its merchandise is developed for women of all sizes, age 40 and older.
Chico’s FAS Company Profile
Chico’s FAS, Inc. is an omni-channel specialty retailer of women’s private branded, casual-to-dressy clothing, intimates and accessories, operating under the Chico’s, White House Black Market (WHBM) and Soma brand names. The Company is also engaged in the sale of merchandise in its domestic and international retail stores. The Chico’s brand sells private branded clothing focusing on women 45 and older. Chico’s apparel includes the Black Label, Zenergy and Travelers collections. The WHBM brand sells private branded clothing focusing on women 35 and older. WHBM sells clothing and accessory items, including everyday basics, wear-to-work, denim and occasion. It offers black and white color palette. The accessories at WHBM include shoes, belts, scarves, handbags and jewelry. The Soma brand sells private branded lingerie, sleepwear, loungewear, activewear and beauty products focusing on women 35 and older. The lingerie category includes bras, panties, shapewear and swimwear.
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