Contrasting PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) & Burlington Stores (NYSE:BURL)

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) and Burlington Stores (NYSE:BURL) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, valuation and dividends.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

80.5% of PriceSmart shares are owned by institutional investors. 17.1% of PriceSmart shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of Burlington Stores shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

PriceSmart has a beta of 0.78, suggesting that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Burlington Stores has a beta of 1.64, suggesting that its stock price is 64% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for PriceSmart and Burlington Stores, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
PriceSmart	0	0	0	0	0.00
Burlington Stores	0	0	14	0	3.00

Burlington Stores has a consensus target price of $317.43, indicating a potential upside of 28.31%. Given Burlington Stores’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Burlington Stores is more favorable than PriceSmart.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares PriceSmart and Burlington Stores”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
PriceSmart	$4.91 billion	0.67	$138.88 million	$4.68	22.78
Burlington Stores	$10.63 billion	1.47	$503.64 million	$8.15	30.35

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

Profitability

This table compares PriceSmart and Burlington Stores’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
PriceSmart	2.81%	12.40%	6.90%
Burlington Stores	4.88%	44.03%	6.48%

Summary

Burlington Stores beats PriceSmart on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About PriceSmart

PriceSmart, Inc. owns and operates U.S.-style membership shopping warehouse clubs in the United States, Central America, the Caribbean, and Colombia. The company provides basic and private label consumer products under the Member's Selection brand, including groceries, cleaning supplies, health and beauty aids, meat, produce, deli, seafood, and poultry. It offers electronics, large and small appliances, automotive, hardware, sporting goods, seasonal products, clothing, domestics, and home furnishing products. In addition, the company offers food and bakery services, as well as health services, such as optical, audiology, and pharmacy. Further, it operates an e-commerce platform for online ordering, curbside pickup, and delivery services. PriceSmart, Inc. was incorporated in 1994 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

About Burlington Stores

Burlington Stores, Inc. operates as a retailer of branded merchandise in the United States. The company provides fashion-focused merchandise, including women's ready-to-wear apparel, menswear, youth apparel, footwear, accessories, toys, gifts, and coats, as well as baby, home, and beauty products. It operates stores under the Burlington Stores, and Cohoes Fashions brand names in Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. Burlington Stores, Inc. was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Burlington, New Jersey.