Critical Comparison: Immersion (NASDAQ:IMMR) vs. Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF)

Immersion (NASDAQ:IMMR) and Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, risk, dividends and earnings.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

60.6% of Immersion shares are owned by institutional investors. 10.6% of Immersion shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.3% of Abercrombie & Fitch shares are owned 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.

Risk and Volatility

Immersion has a beta of 1.01, indicating that its share price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Abercrombie & Fitch has a beta of 1.02, indicating that its share price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for Immersion and Abercrombie & Fitch, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Immersion	0	2	1	0	2.33
Abercrombie & Fitch	0	5	9	2	2.81

Immersion currently has a consensus target price of $13.50, suggesting a potential upside of 89.61%. Abercrombie & Fitch has a consensus target price of $157.21, suggesting a potential upside of 1.09%. Given Immersion’s higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Immersion is more favorable than Abercrombie & Fitch.

Profitability

This table compares Immersion and Abercrombie & Fitch’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Immersion	0.60%	1.83%	0.82%
Abercrombie & Fitch	10.03%	33.52%	13.05%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Immersion and Abercrombie & Fitch”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Immersion	$1.73 billion	0.14	$4.52 million	$0.34	20.94
Abercrombie & Fitch	$5.27 billion	1.25	$506.92 million	$11.68	13.31

Abercrombie & Fitch has higher revenue and earnings than Immersion. Abercrombie & Fitch is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Immersion, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Abercrombie & Fitch beats Immersion on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Immersion

Immersion Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the creation, design, development, and licensing of haptic technologies that allow people to use their sense of touch to engage with and experience various digital products in North America, Europe, and Asia. The company provides technology, patent, and combined licenses. It serves markets, including mobility, gaming, automotive, virtual and augmented reality, and wearables, as well as residential, commercial, and industrial Internet of Things. The company was incorporated in 1993 and is headquartered in Aventura, Florida.

About Abercrombie & Fitch

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. engages in the retail of apparel, personal care products, and accessories. The firm operates through following geographical segments: Americas, EMEA and APAC. The Americas segment includes operations in North America and South America. The EMEA segment includes operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The APAC segment includes operations in the Asia-Pacific region, including Asia and Oceania. The company was founded by David Abercrombie in 1892 and is headquartered in New Albany, OH.