Financial Review: a.k.a. Brands (NYSE:AKA) versus Ermenegildo Zegna (NYSE:ZGN)

a.k.a. Brands (NYSE:AKA) and Ermenegildo Zegna (NYSE:ZGN) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, dividends, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares a.k.a. Brands and Ermenegildo Zegna”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
a.k.a. Brands	$574.70 million	0.22	-$25.99 million	($2.46)	-4.85
Ermenegildo Zegna	$2.11 billion	1.85	$83.41 million	N/A	N/A

Ermenegildo Zegna has higher revenue and earnings than a.k.a. Brands.

Profitability

This table compares a.k.a. Brands and Ermenegildo Zegna’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
a.k.a. Brands	-4.42%	-23.20%	-6.56%
Ermenegildo Zegna	N/A	N/A	N/A

Volatility & Risk

a.k.a. Brands has a beta of 1.64, meaning that its stock price is 64% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ermenegildo Zegna has a beta of 0.75, meaning that its stock price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for a.k.a. Brands and Ermenegildo Zegna, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
a.k.a. Brands	1	2	1	0	2.00
Ermenegildo Zegna	0	4	3	0	2.43

a.k.a. Brands presently has a consensus target price of $18.33, indicating a potential upside of 53.52%. Ermenegildo Zegna has a consensus target price of $11.37, indicating a potential upside of 18.95%. Given a.k.a. Brands’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe a.k.a. Brands is more favorable than Ermenegildo Zegna.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

55.4% of a.k.a. Brands shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 12.9% of Ermenegildo Zegna shares are held by institutional investors. 17.6% of a.k.a. Brands shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of Ermenegildo Zegna shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Ermenegildo Zegna beats a.k.a. Brands on 8 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About a.k.a. Brands

a.k.a. Brands Holding Corp. operates a portfolio of online fashion brands in the United States, Australia, and internationally. The company offers streetwear apparel, dresses, tops, bottoms, shoes, headwear, and accessories through its online stores under the Princess Polly, Petal & Pup, Culture Kings, and mnml brands. It also operates physical stores under the Culture Kings brand. The company was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

About Ermenegildo Zegna

Ermenegildo Zegna N.V., together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, markets, and distributes luxury menswear, footwear, leather goods, and other accessories under the Zegna and the Thom Browne brands. It provides luxury leisurewear for men; formal suits, tuxedos, shirts, blazers, formal overcoats, and accessories; leather accessories comprising shoes, bags, belts, and small leather accessories; and fragrances. The company also offers luxury womenswear and childrenswear under the Thom Browne brand, as well as provides eyewear, cufflinks and jewelry, watches, underwear, and beachwear manufactured by third parties under licenses. It serves customers through its retail stores and online channels in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North America, Latin America, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company was founded in 1910 and is based in Trivero, Italy. Ermenegildo Zegna N.V. operates as a subsidiary of Monterubello Societa’ Semplice.