Financial Review: Five Below (NASDAQ:FIVE) & Canadian Tire (OTCMKTS:CDNTF)

Canadian Tire (OTCMKTS:CDNTF) and Five Below (NASDAQ:FIVE) are both consumer cyclical companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability and earnings.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Canadian Tire and Five Below, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Canadian Tire	0	0	0	0	N/A
Five Below	1	12	7	0	2.30

Five Below has a consensus target price of $109.95, suggesting a potential upside of 15.24%. Given Five Below’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Five Below is more favorable than Canadian Tire.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

2.2% of Canadian Tire shares are held by institutional investors. 1.9% of Five Below shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Canadian Tire and Five Below’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Canadian Tire	N/A	N/A	N/A
Five Below	7.57%	18.16%	7.22%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Canadian Tire and Five Below”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Canadian Tire	N/A	N/A	N/A	$7.48	23.38
Five Below	$3.72 billion	1.41	$301.11 million	$5.32	17.93

Five Below has higher revenue and earnings than Canadian Tire. Five Below is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Canadian Tire, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Five Below beats Canadian Tire on 7 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Canadian Tire

Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited provides a range of retail goods and services in Canada. It operates in three segments: Retail, CT REIT, and Financial Services. The Retail segment retails automotive maintenance products and accessories, parts, and tires, as well as automotive services and roadside assistance; electrical, hardware, home environment, paint, plumbing, and tool products; cleaning, food & drink, home décor, home essentials, home organization, kitchen, and pet care products; camping, exercise, hockey, hunting, fishing, seasonal recreation, and team sports and golf products; and backyard living, backyard fun, cycling, gardening, outdoor tools, seasonal, and toy products. This segment offers its products under the Canadian Tire, Canadian Tire Gas, Pro Hockey Life, Mark's, PartSource, Helly Hansen, Party City, and SportChek brand names. This segment also participates in loyalty programs, as well as sells its products online. The CT REIT segment operates as a closed-end real estate investment trust that holds a portfolio of properties comprising Canadian Tire stores, Canadian Tire anchored retail developments, industrial properties, mixed-use commercial property, and development properties. The Financial Services segment provides consumer credit cards, in-store financing, insurance products, and retail and broker deposits; and savings accounts and guaranteed investment certificates. Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited was founded in 1922 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

About Five Below

Five Below, Inc. operates as a specialty value retailer in the United States. The company offers range of accessories, which includes novelty socks, sunglasses, jewelry, scarves, gloves, hair accessories, athletic tops and bottoms, and t-shirts, as well as nail polish, lip gloss, fragrance, and branded cosmetics; and personalized living space products, such as lamps, posters, frames, fleece blankets, plush items, pillows, candles, incense, lighting, novelty décor, accent furniture, and related items, as well as provides storage options. It provides assortment of sports balls, team sports merchandise, and fitness accessories comprising hand weights, jump ropes, and gym balls; various games, such as board games, puzzles, collectibles, and toys, including remote control; and summer season sports, which includes pool, beach, and outdoor toys, as well as games and accessories. In addition, the company offers accessories for cell phones, tablets, audio, and computers, as well as cases, chargers, headphones, and other related items; and media products including books, video games, and DVDs. It also provides assortment of craft activity kits, and arts and crafts supplies, such as crayons, markers, and stickers; and school products comprising backpacks, fashion notebooks and journals, novelty pens and pencils, and locker accessories. Further, the company offers party products, which includes party goods, decorations, gag gifts, and greeting cards, as well as every day and special occasion merchandise; assortment of classic and novelty candy bars, movie-size box candy, seasonal-related candy, and gum and snack food products, as well as sells chilled drinks through coolers; and provides seasonally specific items used to celebrate and decorate for events. The company was formerly known as Cheap Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to Five Below, Inc. in August 2002. Five Below, Inc. was incorporated in 2002 and is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.