Vipshop Holdings Limited (NYSE:VIPS) and Big Lots (BIG) Head to Head Analysis

Vipshop Holdings Limited (NYSE: VIPS) and Big Lots (NYSE:BIG) are both mid-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, earnings, profitabiliy, risk and institutional ownership.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

68.5% of Vipshop Holdings Limited shares are owned by institutional investors. 29.5% of Vipshop Holdings Limited shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of Big Lots shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Vipshop Holdings Limited and Big Lots, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Vipshop Holdings Limited	1	2	7	0	2.60
Big Lots	0	3	7	1	2.82

Vipshop Holdings Limited presently has a consensus target price of $15.80, suggesting a potential upside of 34.70%. Big Lots has a consensus target price of $58.20, suggesting a potential upside of 13.30%. Given Vipshop Holdings Limited’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Vipshop Holdings Limited is more favorable than Big Lots.

Dividends

Big Lots pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Vipshop Holdings Limited does not pay a dividend. Big Lots pays out 27.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Big Lots has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares Vipshop Holdings Limited and Big Lots’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Vipshop Holdings Limited	3.50%	44.90%	10.78%
Big Lots	3.20%	29.88%	10.71%

Volatility & Risk

Vipshop Holdings Limited has a beta of 1.9, indicating that its stock price is 90% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Big Lots has a beta of 0.85, indicating that its stock price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Vipshop Holdings Limited and Big Lots’ gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	EBITDA	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Vipshop Holdings Limited	$8.99 billion	0.76	$581.08 million	$0.51	23.00
Big Lots	$5.18 billion	0.44	$368.08 million	$3.67	14.00

Vipshop Holdings Limited has higher revenue and earnings than Big Lots. Big Lots is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Vipshop Holdings Limited, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Vipshop Holdings Limited beats Big Lots on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Vipshop Holdings Limited

Vipshop Holdings Limited is a holding company. The Company is an online discount retailer for brands in China. The Company offers branded products to consumers in China through flash sales mainly on its vip.com Website. The Company’s segment is sales, product distribution and offering of goods on its online platforms. The Company conducts its business through its subsidiaries and consolidated affiliated entities in China. Through its flash sales model, the Company sells limited quantities of discounted branded products online for limited periods of time. The Company offers diversified product offerings from over 17,000 domestic and international brands, including apparel for women, men and children, fashion goods, cosmetics, home goods and other lifestyle products. The Company offers a range of products and services for consumers through lefeng.com, specializing in branded cosmetics, apparel, healthcare products, food and other consumer products.

About Big Lots

Big Lots, Inc. is a non-traditional, discount retailer operating in the United States. As of January 28, 2017, the Company operated a total of 1,432 stores. The Company operates through the discount retailing segment. As of January 28, 2017, the Company’s stores are located at various states of the United States, such as Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Washington. The Company’s merchandise categories include Furniture, Seasonal, Soft Home, Food, Consumables, Hard Home, and Electronics, Toys, & Accessories.